Chapter 1: Understanding Human Movement PDF

# Chapter I: Understanding Human Movement ## Chapter I ## Understanding Human Movement > "We have a brain for one reason, and one reason ONLY- and that's to produce adaptable and complex movements." - Daniel Wolpert, British Neuroscientist Movement is the only way a human brain can connect to the...

# Chapter I: Understanding Human Movement ## Chapter I ## Understanding Human Movement > "We have a brain for one reason, and one reason ONLY- and that's to produce adaptable and complex movements." - Daniel Wolpert, British Neuroscientist Movement is the only way a human brain can connect to the world. Schwartz (2016) described how the brain and muscles exist with the intention of effecting change; generate displacements and forces on our surroundings. These two organs develop together in a closed-loop system of interaction with the world. The complexity of how the brain is dependent with muscles for its development is hardly understood because of the scarcity of knowledge generated about movement. As part of movement revolution, this getting-to-know chapter will introduce you to some superficial and observable features of movement. We will encounter some terms to address human movement, how to perceive them, and finally, how to communicate them. Being immersed with descriptive concepts is essential in our journey to movement literacy to become a better and physically competent individual. ## Describing Movements Apart from being an avenue to execute functional activities for survival, movement is a mechanism to convey message and communicate with peers, as well as with other species. Seeing movement as a language that illustrates meaning and connotations, it also carries with them identity that traces performers' history and ethnicity. In the standpoint of human physical activity, we will be classifying movements in terminology of functional anatomy and biomechanics. At this point of understanding movements, we must be conscious of three things: 1. First is movement that has something to do with bending and straightening. 2. Second, movements in the human body also see body parts going away from the center line of the body. 3. And lastly, movements that involves body parts rotating in place. ## Bending and Straightening Movements Most of our body segments move in ways of bending and straightening. We include body parts such as the limbs, the neck, even the back experience a lot of bending and straightening. These bending and straightening are the ingredients of a dance routine, sports skills, or our daily living tasks. We call these bending movements **flexion**, where a muscle of group of muscle is pulling a segment towards another. Straightening it back is called **extension**, where an opposite muscle pulls the segment back to a straightened or neutral position. There are also body parts that can bend opposite to the flexion side. We call this movement **hyperextension**, where the extension movement pass over the neutral or straight line formation of the part. ## Moving away from the center Aside from bending and straightening type of movements, you can also perceive movements swinging towards and away from the center line, an imaginary vertical line that divides your left body and right body. As we do movements like jumping jacks or arm swinging to the side, we do **abduction** and **adduction** movements. Abduction movements are swinging away, while adduction is swinging towards the center. Like the extension movement, we use a vertical line of reference to distinguish whether the swing is a **hyperadduction**. ## Rotation Several joints in the body does not bend but can rotate and pivot depending on its type (to be described in Chapter 2). While rotation movements are usually hard to recognize, these movements are highly used for speed and sports that feature throwing skills. Of course, this is not limited only for sports as it also aids in spinning maneuvers in dance. ## Specialized Movements While bending, swinging, and rotating are major movements in the body, there are body parts designed with special movement names. These movements, while still have the mechanisms of the three, they involve musculoskeletal structure that result to a different movement view and standpoint. - **Elevation & Depression** - this specialized movement happens in the scapula, or the triangular bone at the upper back. The scapular movement itself is hard to observe, elevation and depression of the shoulder is a good indicator. - **Pronation & Supination** - these two movements are specific to the forearm. While it is not directly observed, the facing-down (pronation) and facing-up (supination) of the palm is the indicator of this forearm movement. It is facilitated by a rotational movement in the radioulnar articulation at the elbow joint. - **Lateral Flexion** - this movement is applicable mostly to the trunk. It is a bending movement (flexion) to the side (lateral) of the torso, observable in the front view. - **Horizontal Adduction & Abduction** - from the movement names, these imply motions going to the center (adduction) and away from the center (abduction) but viewed in a different angle or view. These “top view" abduction-adduction is applicable to our shoulders and hips. - **Circumduction** - this specialized movement happen in joints that involve ball and socket articulations. Joints such as the shoulder and the hip can perform this movement. Mechanically, this may also be applied to joints that perform both lateral flexion and flexion-hyperextension. ## Perspectives in Movement With the presence of terminology, describing human movement can be done using its distinct labels in a three-dimensional setting. As physical activity is involved in various planes and axes, the imagery of movement can be seen differently by different observer in different perspective. These perspectives can be observed in different planes where a specific movement lie. Anatomical planes are 2-dimensional slices or "views" extracted from a 3-dimensional space, used in understanding movements better. There are 3 main anatomical planes namely, frontal, sagittal and transverse planes. 1. **Frontal Plane** - also known as the coronal plane, it is the perspective where an observer is seeing the movement in the front view. 2. **Sagittal Plane** - this plane slices the body separating the left and right. It is the perspective where one seeing the side view of a posture or a movement. 3. **Transverse Plane** - this perspective captures visual information from the top view of the subject or performer. The very first step in understanding movement and be movement literate can describe movements always in relation to planes. Comparing and analysis is better done in one specific plane, as movements are seen differently. There are movements of a specific body part that cannot be seen in other planes, especially if the joint degrees of freedom (df) is limited. However, while movements cannot be observed in specific views or planes, this does not mean that the movement did not happen. ## Summary of Movements | Major Joints | Observable Movement (in Functional Position) | |---|---| | **Frontal Plane** | | | **Neck** | Abduction, Adduction | | **Shoulder** | Abduction, Adduction, Elevation, Depression | | **Trunk** | Abduction, Adduction | | **Wrist** | Flexion, Extension, Hyperextension | | **Fingers** | Flexion, Extension | | **Hip** | Abduction, Adduction | | **Ankle** | Inversion, Eversion | | **Sagittal Plane** | | | **Neck** | Flexion, Extension | | **Shoulder** | Flexion, Extension, Hyperflexion, Hyperextension | | **Trunk** | Flexion, Extension, Hyperextension | | **Elbow** | Flexion, Extension | | **Wrist** | Abduction, Adduction | | **Fingers** | Abduction, Adduction | | **Hip** | Anterior Tilt, Posterior Tilt | | **Knee** | Flexion, Extension | | **Ankle** | Dorsiflexion, Plantarflexion | | **Toes** | Flexion, Extension | | **Transverse Plane** | | | **Head** | Rotation, Protraction, Retraction | | **Neck** | Rotation | | **Shoulder** | Rotation, Protraction, Retraction | | **Trunk** |Rotation | | **Wrist** | Pronation, Supination | | **Hip** | Rotation | | **Ankle** | Rotation | | **Toes** | Abduction, Adduction | ## Key points to remember In understanding human movement, here are thoughts need to keep in mind: - Movement biologically existed to communicate and connect the brain to the environment - Bodily movements are labeled with names - Movements are seen differently in different perspective - Always acknowledge the plane or view where the movement is seen or observed