Sports Medicine Positions, Planes, & Movements

VA Lesson 4.3

Anatomical Position

Frontal (Coronal) Plane

Sagittal Plane

Transverse Plane

superior; inferior

toward the head end of the upper body; away from the head, lower

proximal—closer; distal—farther

near and far to the origin; usually used to orient the positions of structures along the limbs with respect to the trunk of the body

Medial—towards; Lateral—away

towards the middle or towards the edge; midline of a body in anatomical position

Anterior—front; Posterior—back

front and back of a body in anatomical position

Supine

horizontal position with the body facing upward ex. face up

Prone

horizontal position with the body facing downward      ex. face down

Flexion—decrease; Extension—increase

decrease or increase the angle in-between two body parts

Hyperextension

abnormal or excessive extension of a joint beyond its normal ROM

Abduction—away; Adduction—towards

body movement towards or away from the body’s midline

Circumduction

movement of a body region in a circular manner in which one end of the region being moved stays relatively stationary while the other end describes a circle

Rotation

twisting or turning movement of a bone or body part; occurs within the vertebral column, pivot joint, or ball-and-socket joint

Supination—palm out; Pronation—palm backward

movements of the forearm

Dorsiflexion—up; Planter Flexion—down

up and down movements of the ankle joint = hinge joint

Inversion—angling bottom of foot toward midline; Eversion—angling bottom of foot away from midline

involves multiple plane joints among the tarsal bones of the posterior foot; toward and away from midline

Protraction—anterior; Retraction—posterior

anterior-posterior movements of the scapula or mandible

Depression—downward; Elevation—upward

downward and upward movements of the scapula or mandible

Excursion

side-to-side movement of the mandible

Superior; Inferior rotation

movements of the scapula—defined by the direction of movement of the glenoid cavity

Opposition—brings thumb into contact; Reposition—returning thumb to anatomical position

thumb movement that brings the tip of the thumb in contact with the tip of a finger; returning the thumb to its anatomical position

Pivot

uniaxial joint; allows rotational movement

Hinge

uniaxial joint; allows flexion/extension movements

Condyloid

biaxial joint; allows flexion/extension, abduction/adduction, and circumduction movements

Saddle

Biaxial joint; allows flexion/extension, abduction/adduction, and circumduction movements

Plane

multiaxial joint; allows inversion/eversion of foot, or flexion/lateral flexion of the vertebral column

Ball-and-socket

multiaxial joint; allows flexion/extension, abduction/adduction, circumduction, and medial/lateral rotation movements