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Abella IV-2
Types of Joint
A joint is the point where two or more bones meet. There are three main types of joints; Fibrous (immoveable) Cartilagenous (partially moveable) Synovial (freely moveable). Fibrous joints Fibrous (synarthrodial): This type of joint is held together by only a ligament. Examples are where the teeth are held to their bony sockets and at both the radioulnar and tibiofibular joints. Cartilagenous Cartilagenous (synchondroses and sympheses): These joints occur where the connection between the articulating bones is made up of cartilage for example between vertebrae in the spine. A cartilagenous joint between two vertebrae Synchondroses are temporary joints which are only present in children, up until the end of puberty. For example the epiphyseal plates in long bones. Symphesis joints are permanant cartilagenous joints, for example the pubic symphesis. Synovial Joints Synovial (diarthrosis): Synovial joints are by far the most common classification of joint within the human body. They are highly moveable and all have a synovial capsule (collagenous structure) surrounding the entire joint, a synovial membrane (the inner layer of the capsule) which secretes synovial fluid (a lubricating liquid) and cartilage known as hyaline cartilage which pads the ends of the articulating bones. There are 6 types of synovial joints which are classified by the shape of the joint and the movement available.
Examples
Structure
Hinge
Flexion/Extension
Elbow/Knee
Hinge joint
Pivot
Pivot Joint
Flexion/Extension/Adduction/ Ball and Socket Abduction/Internal & External Rotation Ball and socket joint
Shoulder/Hip
Condyloid joint
Gliding
Gliding movements
Intercarpal joints
Gliding joint
shoulder flexion is the action of raising the arm above the head. Extension is then the downward movement. In the photo, the shoulder is in an extended position. For the knee, bending the knee is flexion, as the angle is reduced (as shown in the picture) and straightening it is called extension. Flexion and extension at the ankle joint is called dorsiflexion and plantarflexion. Dorsiflexion is when you point your toes towards the ceiling and plantarflexion is when you point your toes away, towards the floor. Remember to start in the anatomical starting position! Abduction and Adduction These are movements in the frontal plane and involve moving the body part away or towards an imaginary centre line. Abduction is taking the body part away from the central line and adduction is moving it towards
Other abduction and adduction movements include the fingers. If you splay your fingers and move them apart, this is abduction as they are moving away from the centre position. When you bring the fingers back together, this is adduction, as you are adding them back to the centre line. Rotation Rotation movements are in the transverse plane and include any twisting motion. Joints which permit rotation include the shoulder and hip. These are both ball and socket joints. We can also rotate our necks and backs due to a series of smaller joints, including the atlanto-axial joint which is a pivot joint in the neck between the first two vertebrae (C1 and C2). Rotation of the hip and shoulder can be broken down into internal or external rotation (also sometimes known as medial and lateral rotation respectively). In the example of the shoulder video below, internal rotation is the movement of the hand either inwards towards the body (when the shoulder is adducted) or down to point towards the floor (when the shoulder is abducted). External rotation is therefore the opposite, when the hand moves away from the body (when the shoulder is adducted) or up towards the ceiling (when the shoulder is abducted).
Circumduction Circumduction is a combination of all of the movements above. It is possible at ball and socket, condyloid and saddle joints such as the shoulder, hip, wrist and ankle. It involves moving the entire connecting limb through its full range of motion. Here is an example of shoulder circumduction:
Pronation, Supination, Inversion and Eversion Pronation and supination are specialised movements of the forearm and ankle. In the forearm, pronation is the movement of turning the palm over to face downwards (or backwards if starting in anatomical neutral). Supination is the opposite movement, of turning the palm up or forwards. The movement here comes from the proximal radio-ulnar joint (the joint just below the elbow, between the Radius and Ulna bones) which is a pivot joint, allowing the Radius to move around the Ulna.
At the ankle, supination is the movement of turning the sole of the foot inwards. This is sometimes called inversion. Pronation is the movement of turning the sole of the foot outwards, sometimes called eversion. You will sometimes hear people saying they have over-pronated feet, meaning their sole turns outwards slightly more than it should when they walk or run, giving the appearance of a flat foot, without an arch.