Chapter 5: Human Movement Science Flashcards
Biomechanics
The study of how internal and external forces affect a living body (especially for the skeletal system)
Superior
A position above a point of reference.
Inferior
A position below a point of reference.
Proximal
A position near the center of your body or a point of reference. Your knee joint is more proximal to your hip joint then your ankle joint is.
Distal
A position that is farther away from the center of your body or point of reference. Your ankle is more distal to your hips then your knees are.
Anterior (Ventral)
This refers to the front of your body facing forward. Your chest is anterior on your body.
Posterior (Dorsal)
This refers to the back of your body. Your back and your hamstrings are posterior.
Medial
This refers to things close to the midline of the body. Your adductors are closer to the midline of your body compared to your abductors.
Lateral
Positioned on the outside of the body. Your ears are on the lateral side of your head.
Contralateral
These are things located on the opposite side of your body. Your left foot is contralateral to your right hand.
Ipsilateral
These are things located on the same side of your body. Your left foot is ipsilateral to your left hand.
Anatomic position
The anatomic position is important as a point of reference for anatomic nomenclature. The anatomic position is when the body is erect, the arms at your side and your palms facing forward. This way we can reference what is posterior, anterior, medial or lateral by referencing this default position.
Sagittal plane
The sagittal plane splits the body into a right half and they left half. Extension and flexion are movements in this plane.
Flexion
This is a bending movement where a relative angle between two adjacent sections decreases. It’s easier to imagine two separate reference points. A good example is of knee flexion. In this example, the two reference points are your calves and your hamstrings. As knee flexion occurs, the distance between your calves and hand strings decrease as they get closer to one another. As the knee goes into extension they move further away from each other, or the relative angle increases with the knee extension and decreases with knee flexion.
Extension
This is the opposite of flexion. The relative angle between adjacent sections increases as with my knee extension example above.
Hyperextension
This is the extension beyond the normal limits of the body.
Frontal plane
This is a vertical plane that has right angles compared to the sagittal plane breaking up the body between frontal and posterior planes.
Abduction
The act that typically moves a limb away from the midline of the body in the frontal plane.
Adduction
The act that typically moves a limb towards the midline of the body in the frontal plane.
Transverse plane
The plane that divides the body into a lower and upper section.
Internal rotation
When a limb rotates in the transverse plane going towards the midline of the body. If looked from a bird’s eye view, a limb moving counterclockwise going towards the midline of the body.
External rotation
When a limb rotates in the transverse plane going away from the midline of the body. If looked at from a bird’s eye view, a limb moving clockwise away from the midline of the body.
Horizontal adduction
Imagine the movement of a chest fly.
Horizontal abduction
Imagine the movement of a rear deltoid fly.
Scapular motion
The act of moving the shoulder blades away from the midline.
Scapular retraction
The act of moving the shoulder blades in the direction of the midline.
Scapular elevation
The act of elevating the shoulder blades towards the superior.
Scapular depression
The active lowering the shoulder blades towards the inferior.
Concentric
A concentric muscle action: happens when the contraction is accompanied by the shortening of the muscle tissue.
Eccentric
An eccentric muscle action: is accompanied by the lengthening of the muscle tissue.
Isometric
In isometric muscle action is when no change in the length of the muscle happens.
Isokinetic
In isokinetic muscle, action is when the contraction speed of a muscle is constant.
Force
Any movement that results in the speeding up or slowing down of an object.
Length-tension relationships
This is the perfect length of a muscle that will result in the most force produced. The ability of a muscle to produce force at its current range.
Torque
Something that tends to produce rotation or torsion. The movement of a system or force that typically leads to a rotation.
Rotary Motion
This is rotational movements from the joints.
Force couple
Groups of muscles that work with one another in order to produce a force on a joint.
Sensorimotor integration
How the muscular and nervous system cooperates to gather and interpret information in order to execute the movement.
Proprioception
This is the cumulative sensory input to the CNS (Central nervous system) from all of the various mechanoreceptors that can sense limb movement and body position. Proprioception training improves coordination, posture, and balance.
Muscle synergies
Muscles that are controlled by the central nervous system in order to produce the same movements.
Motor development
The maturation of muscle coordination.
Motor learning
The process of improving one’s motor skills with practice. This results in lasting changes and one’s overall capability of responding.
Motor control
The process where people use cognition in order to coordinate the muscles and limbs of the body.
Motor behavior
Response to external and internal stimuli from the environment. The overall study of motor development, motor learning and motor control (a.k.a. movement).
External feedback
This is information that one will get about their performance from external sources. Usually visual, verbal or written.
Internal feedback
This is how you personally feel after you have practice or performed a certain skill.
Feedback
This is a biological system where the response or the output affects the initial input. Your sensory system gathers input from your motor system in order to adapt and learn new motor skills.
Frontal
- Splits the body into posterior and interior sections
- The axis of rotation: anterior and posterior
- Joint motion: abduction and adduction. Ankle inversion and eversion and lateral flexion.
- Exercise example: pull-ups, barbell shoulder press, Hip abduction and adduction with cable.
Transverse
- Splits the body into upper and lower sections.
- The axis of rotation: longitudinal/vertical
- Joint motion: pronation, supination, internal rotation, external rotation, horizontal abduction/adduction.
- Exercise example: trunk rotation, internal rotation, wood chop, horizontal adduction, cable chest fly, horizontal abduction, rear delt fly (machine).
Sagittal
- Splits the body into right and left halves
- The axis of rotation: coronal (medial-lateral axis).
- Joint motion: Extension and flexion
- Exercise examples: Hamstring curls, bicep curls (barbell), Quadricep extension, skull crushers
Common force couples
Hips/Knee extension during walking, running, stair climbing = gluteus maximus, quadriceps, calf muscles.
Elbow flexion/bicep curls = shortening of the brachioradialis, brachialis and biceps brachii.
The first type of lever
The fulcrum sits directly between the energy moving the weight and the weight itself. Some good examples are scissors, seesaws, crowbars or a hammer extracting a nail.
The second type of lever
The fulcrum is at one end, the weight is in the middle and the force is being applied on the other end. Some common levers that use this second type are wheelbarrows, can openers and staplers.
The third type of lever
The fulcrum is on one end, the weight is on the other end and the forces being applied in the middle. With this type of lever, more force needs to be applied, but in return, the weight gets moved a much larger distance. Some good examples are a fishing rod, a broom or a baseball bat.
