We discussed the 7 movements here.
We talked about how to break down the movements into small pieces which is important to understand the movements or the exercises.
Today, we are going to talk about the planes and axis of the movements. All movements move in three dimensions not only one dimension. Therefore, we need to consider all planes when we think about training programs and movement analysis.
This helps you to understand how our muscles make force and move joints. Additionally, it will be easier to find out problems with the movements.
Firstly, I am going to talk about “the planes of motion”. There are three planes of motion
- Sagittal Plane
- Frontal Plane
- Horizontal Plane
1. Sagittal Plane
This is a vertical plane that divides the body into left and right halves. Any back and forth movements that are parallel to this plane are sagittal plane movements. Examples of movements are extension and flexion. The squat is an example of the exercises in this plane because the main movements in the squat are hip extension and knee extension.
2. Frontal plane
This is a vertical plane that divides the body into front and back. Any side movements that are parallel are frontal plane movements．Examples of actions are adduction, abduction, inversion, and eversion. Side raise is a good example of a frontal plane movement(side raise is a shoulder abduction movement)．
3. Horizontal plane
this is a plane that divides the body into upper and lower．Any movements that are parallel with waistline are horizontal plane movements. Actions are internal/ external rotation, horizontal adduction/ abduction, pronation and supination. An example of the action is bench press because the main action of bench press is shoulder horizontal adduction.
There is a similar concept called “axis”．Plane is for the movements on the other hand axis is a straight line where the joint rotates.
There are three axes as planes are．
1. Sagittal axis
This is a horizontal line from front to back which crosses the intersection of the sagittal plane and horizontal plane. That is, for example, lateral raise is a movement on the frontal plane however, the shoulder joint rotates (the action is adduction) in the sagittal axis.
2. Frontal axis
This is a horizontal line from one side to the other side which crosses the frontal plane and horizontal plane. The movements on the sagittal plane is done on the frontal axis. That is, when you do squat which is a movement on sagittal plane has knee extension and hip extension, your knees, and hip joints rotate on a frontal axis.
3. Vertical axis
This is a vertical line from head to toes that crosses the front plane and sagittal plane. Movements on the horizontal plane are done on the vertical axis. For example, the bench press is a horizontal plane action but, shoulder joints do horizontal adduction on the vertical axis.
As you can see above, planes and axis are so confusing however, they are very important concepts to understand the action and analyze the movements.
An easy way to remember is “ action on the plane, joints on the axis”.
