There are three planes of motion that pass through the human body. • The sagital plane. • The frontal plane. • The transverse (horizontal) plane. The sagital plane
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Understanding Planes and Axes of Movement Terminology When describing the relative positions of the body parts or relationship between tho se parts it is advisable to use the same standard terminology. Anterior : Toward or on the front of the bod y: in front of The pectorals are on the anterior aspect of the body Posterior : Towards or on the back of the body: behind The rhomboids are on the posterior aspect of the body Superior: Toward the head or upper part of a structure: above The humerus is superior to the radius Inferior : Toward the lower part of a structure: below The tibia is inferior to the femur Medial: Toward or at the midline of the body: inner side The adductors are medial to the abductors Lateral : Away form the midline of the b ody: outer side The abductors are on the lateral aspect of the leg Proximal: Closer to the origin of a point of reference The elbow is proximal to the wrist Distal: Further from the origin or point of reference The foot is distal to the knee Planes an d Axis Human movements are described in three dimensions based on a series of planes and axis. There are three planes of motion that pass through the human body. The sagital plane The frontal plane The transverse (horizontal) plane The sagital plane lie s vertically and divides the body into right and left parts. The frontal pl ane also lies vertically and divides the body into anterior and posterior parts. The transverse plane lies horizontally and divides the body into superior and inferior parts.
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Behnke 2000 Axis An axis is a straight line around which an object rotates. Movement at a joint take s place in a plane ab out an axis. There are three axe s of rotation. Sagital axis Frontal axis Vertical axis The sagital axis passes horizontal ly from posterior to anterior and is formed by the intersection of the sagital and transverse planes. The frontal axis passes horizontally from left to right and is formed by the intersection of the frontal and transverse planes. The vertical axis passes vertically from inferior to superior and is formed by the intersection of the sagital and frontal planes. Planes of motion and function There is a tendency when describing a movement for it to be referred to in the particular plane that it is dominated by. An example of this would be a description of walking as a sagital plane movement. In reality this is really only a description of the gross direction of movement. At individual joint level, moveme nt will be occurring in all three planes not solely i n the sagital plane. For example during walking, the hip will be flexing/extending in the sagital plane, adducting/abducting in the frontal plane and internally/externally rotating in the transverse plane. The same concept applies to all the individual j oints in the lower limb
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The movement that you effectively see does not represent what is occurring i n terms of motor control and fo rce absorption within all three planes. For example during gait the most obvio u s hip movement is express ed in the sagital plane , but at the joint there is an interplay between eccentric force absorption and concentric force production in all three planes. The hip is subtly decelerating internal rotation and adduction and then accelerating external r otation and abduction. This simultaneous movement can be seen as one motion with three it can be termed tri – planar motion It is essential that the exercise professional is comfortable with the concepts of tri – planar motion and the fact that all functional mo vements are three dimensional, however it is biomechanically understood that description in single plane terms is most useful when generalising about gross movement patterns. Examples of dominant planes, motions and axis in gross movements Plane Motio n Axis Example Sagital Flexion/extension Frontal Walking Squatting Overhead press Frontal Abduction/abduction Side flexion Inversion/eversion Sagital Star jump Lateral arm raise Side bending Transverse Int rotationn/ext rotation Horizontal flexion/exten sion Supination/pronation Vertical Throwing Baseball swing Golf swing The above are acceptable only as terms of gross movement .
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Movement in the transverse (horizon tal) plane about the vertical axis McGinnis, (1999) Practical Reasoning Familiar machine based , weight training, lifting and even bodyweight exercises may appear to be performed entirely within one plane , and their descript ions can re – enforce this i.e . Quads bench, bicep curl, hip abduction, hamstring curl, calf raise, tricep press , lateral arm raise, overhead press, tricep extension. However , just as in walking , there will also be elements of motor control , stability and internal joint m oments (directional control) in all 3 planes of motion occurring that may not be entirely obvious just by simple observation. This tri – plane control tends to be exaggerated in free weight and open chain lifts as opposed to the more enforced fixat ion of m achine based resistance exercise. If we look at the functional a ctivities of life and s port i.e. Rolling, walking, skipping, twisting, running, jump ing, hopping, Catching, throwing, kicking, climbing, squatting, pushing, pulling etc
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