Patterns and Principles of Movement
KIN 330
V. Dianne Ulibarri, Ph.D.
Copyright 2001. V. Dianne Ulibarri. All Rights Reserved. KIN 330 Michigan State University.
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Patterns and Principles of Movement
Introduction
The following information deals with movement patterns and two principles of
movement seen in sport skills. As you read this information, pay particular attention to
the plane or planes through which the body parts move and the order in which they are
performed to complete the skill.
The four phases of movement identified in biomechanics are the preparatory, force
production, contact/release, and followthrough phases. All patterns occur in the force
production phase. The force production phase contains the contact/release of an object.
However, in biomechanics, the contact/release phase is critical for determining factors in
impulse, momentum, and projectile motion.
Planes of Movement
As was seen in anatomy, the human body is divided into three planes, to allow
geographical references to be used with respect to the body. In anatomy however, each
plane divided the body into exact halves. That is, the transverse plane divided the body
into exact superior (top) and inferior (bottom) halves, the sagittal plane divided the body
into exact right and left halves, and the frontal (coronal) plane divided the body into exact
anterior (front) and posterior (back) halves. In anatomical position, the center of gravity
of the body is located at the intersection of these three major planes.
In this class, we will refer to each of the planes dividing the body into their respective
parts, rather than halves. That is, the transverse plane divides the body into top and
bottom parts, the sagittal plane divides the body into right and left parts and the frontal
plane divides the body into front and back parts. The reason for this modification is that
the primary plane of motion can be identified to examine body movements and sport
skills. If in the performance of the skill, a body segment were to move out of the primary
plane, an error in skill occurs.
Consider the actions of the arms and legs during running. The movements of the arms
and legs occur in the sagittal plane. If these movements occurred in any other plane, we
would identify the movement as an error. For instance, take the arm action in running.
Teachers and coaches want to see the arms remain in the sagittal plane as the individual
runs. However, we often see the hands approach, or even cross, the midline of the body
during running. Is this an error? Yes! Why? By moving toward the midline, the arms
have to move in the transverse plane. In reality, the arm movement may be caused by
errors in the movement of the legs. Regardless, the arms are out of the primary plane of
movement for that skill. Our task is to figure out the causes of, and then correct the error.
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Before continuing, we need to define two phrases: Plane of Movement and Axis of
Rotation. The Plane of Movement is the plane in which the body, or body part, is, or
should be, moving for that particular skill. That is, the plane of movement is parallel to
the plane in which the body part is moving. The axis of rotation is, by definition: the
line formed by the intersection of the two planes not involved in the movement.
Therefore, the axis of rotation is the axis, or line, about which the body part rotates. The
relationship of the axis of rotation to the plane of movement is that they are perpendicular
to each other.
Complicating analysis of the body is that different body parts can be moving in different
planes sequentially, as one skill is added to another. Additionally, body parts can be
moving in different phases of a skill and in different planes either simultaneously, or
sequentially. Using the arms as an example of sequential movements, a roundoff back
handspring is a skill in which the arms move in the sagittal plane during the approach to
the roundoff and during the mount, then move in the frontal plane during the roundoff,
and back to the sagittal plane for the back handspring. If the arms move in any plane
other than these planes, or other than in this order, an error will occur.
An example of moving in different planes and in different phases simultaneously is an
overhand throw. The force production phase begins with the step toward the target.
While this action is being performed (force production phase), the trunk and throwing
arm are in the preparatory phase, as these body parts are moving away from the target.
As a result of these movements, the stretch reflex is elicited in the throwing arm.
Joint Classifications
The joints of the body are constructed so that they are nonaxial, uniaxial, biaxial, or
triaxial by design or structure. These classifications are also called zero, one, two or
three degrees of freedom, respectively. To move the joint in a manner other than the
plane(s) intended by design, can cause an injury at that joint, depending on other factors
such as load, rate of loading and range of motion.
The lab entitled Planes of Movement addresses plane of motion identification and axes of
rotations for a variety of actions or skills. You may want to examine this lab. As an
example, examine the actions of the shoulder, elbow and wrist joints for the actions in the
weight training exercise: lat pulldowns. The analysis of lat pulldowns when lifting the
weight (resistance) is found in the following table:
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Action: Lat Pulldown:
Begin: 145o abduction at the shoulder joints, 170o extension at the elbow joints, wrists
extended.
o
End: 30 abduction at the shoulder joints, 85o extension at the elbow joints, wrists
extended.
Joint
Movement
Shoulder
Adduction
Plane of
Movement
Frontal
Axis of
Rotation____________
The line formed by the intersection
of the sagittal and transverse planes.
Elbow
Flexion
Frontal
The line formed by the intersection
of the sagittal and transverse planes.
Wrist
Flexion
Sagittal
The line formed by the intersection
of the transverse and frontal planes.
Patterns of Movement
Within sport activity, joint and segment movements are repeated so often that we can
examine the majority of skills by classifying them into patterns. The advantage to this
method for evaluation, is that the way in which the skill should be performed is known.
There are distinct nuances for each skill, but the general pattern of the movement is
known, thus a model for that skill is available. All patterns occur during the force
production force and include the contact/release phase.
Before we actually get into the arm patterns, there is one set of patterns that is important
to understand. This set of patterns deals with the shoulder girdle. In normal movement,
the shoulder girdle moves as a result of at least 30o of movement at the shoulder joint.
The Shoulder Girdle Patterns are as follows:
Shoulder Joint
Flexion
Shoulder Girdle
Upward Rotation
Elevation
Abduction
Extension
Downward Rotation
Depression
Adduction
Horizontal Flexion
Abduction
Horizontal Extension
Adduction
Abduction
Upward Rotation
Adduction
Downward Rotation
Inward Rotation
No movement
Outward Rotation
No movement
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Arm Patterns
Arm patterns are defined by actions occurring at the shoulder joint. These arm patterns
are the overhand, sidearm, underhand, backhand and pushing patterns. For example, the
overhand pattern is seen in the baseball pitch, overhand throw, forward pass in football,
tennis serve (smash and overhead lob), javelin throw, volleyball overhand serve, and
baseball pass in basketball.
The overhand pattern consists of the following movements:
Shoulder
Joint
Horizontal Flexion
Inward Rotation
Shoulder
Girdle
Abduction
Elbow/
Forearm
Extension
Pronation
Wrist/
Hand
Flexion
Examples of the sidearm pattern are seen in the discus, sidearm throw, forehand
(groundstroke) in tennis, racketball, squash, and the forehand in badminton.
The sidearm pattern consists of the following movements:
Shoulder
Joint
Horizontal Flexion
Inward Rotation*
Shoulder
Girdle
Abduction
Elbow/
Forearm
Extension
Pronation*
Wrist/
Hand
Flexion
*If spins were to be applied to a ball when performing a sidearm pattern with an
implement, topspin would be applied by inward rotation at the shoulder joint and
pronation at the forearm, while a backspin would be applied by outward rotation and
supination, at the shoulder joint and forearm, respectively.
Examples of the underhand pattern include bowling, pitching in slo-pitch softball,
horseshoe pitching, and the volleyball dig, underhand volleyball serve and badminton
serve. Note that these skills are relatively low velocity skills.
The underhand pattern consists of the following movements:
Shoulder
Joint
Flexion
Shoulder
Girdle
Abduction
Upward Rotation
Elevation
Elbow/
Forearm
Extension
Wrist/
Hand
Flexion
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The speed of the pitch in fastpitch softball, is faster than the pitch in slo-pitch softball.
Therefore, other actions must be added to increase both the range through which the ball
is carried, and the velocity of the ball.
The underhand pattern used by a pitcher in fastpitch softball, consists of the following
movements:
Shoulder
Joint
Adduction*
|
Flexion
Inward Rotation
Shoulder
Elbow/
Girdle
Forearm
Downward Rotation*
|
Abduction
Extension
Upward Rotation
Elevation
Pronation
Wrist/
Hand
Flexion
*Actions are due to trunk position.
Flexion at the shoulder joint defines the pattern as underhand and the movement of
flexion at the shoulder joint occurs in the sagittal plane. Therefore, the arm needs to stay
in a plane that is parallel to the sagittal plane throughout the force production phase. So
from where does the adduction at the shoulder joint come? Recall that in an activity such
as pitching in fastpitch softball, the trunk rotates about 90o away from the target prior to
the force production phase. Another way of stating this position, is that the non-throwing
side is closer to the target than the throwing side. Because of the trunk’s position, the
shoulder joint of the pitching arm must adduct to keep the arm in the same line of force as
that at release. In this case, the primary plane of movement of the arm is the sagittal
plane. So it is really the trunk’s position that forces the arm to perform adduction at the
shoulder joint to keep the arm in the line of force. Then, because the trunk rotates toward
the target, the throwing arm is positioned in outward rotation, from which inward rotation
occurs. At the shoulder joint, the upper arm is inwardly rotating and flexing. These
movements of adduction, flexion and inward rotation preserve the line of force
throughout the skill.
There exists a pattern within the pattern that can be seen in the three arm patterns above.
This internal pattern is the movement of the upper and lower arms relative to each other.
With the addition of inward rotation at the shoulder joint, the forearm must perform
pronation The momentum of the movement at the shoulder joint is along the longitudinal
axis (long axis) of both the upper and lower arms. The relationship of these rotational
actions of the upper and lower arms will be exemplified in the backhand pattern which
follows.
Examples of the backhand pattern include backhand strokes in tennis, badminton,
racketball, squash, the traditional throw of a frisbee and the front arm in the skill of
batting.
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The backhand pattern consists of the following movements:
Shoulder
Joint
Horizontal Extension
*Inward Rotation
or
#Outward Rotation
Shoulder
Girdle
Adduction
Elbow/
Forearm
Extension/
Wrist/
Hand
Extension
*Pronation
or
#Supination
Note that whether the forearm pronates or supinates is dependent on whether there is
inward rotation at the shoulder joint (as when applying backspin) or outward rotation at
the shoulder joint (as when applying topspin) in the backhand pattern.
If spin is applied to a ball in the backhand pattern, the shoulder joint will inwardly rotate
if backspin is applied, followed by pronation of the forearm. If topspin is applied to a
ball, outward rotation will occur at the shoulder joint, followed by supination of the
forearm. The opposite is true for the sidearm pattern. That is, for the sidearm pattern, the
shoulder joint will inwardly rotate with topspin and outwardly rotate with backspin. The
forearm will follow the same direction of rotation as occurred at the shoulder joint. In
other words, with inward rotation at the shoulder joint, the forearm will pronate: with
outward rotation at the shoulder joint, the forearm will supinate.
The rotational relationship between the upper and lower arms is always true in skilled
movement. If one segment were to rotate in the opposite direction as the adjacent
segment, an injury would result because of the torsional nature of the applied force.
What type of injury are we describing? Take for example “Little Leaguer’s” elbow. This
injury is caused when the upper arm is inwardly rotating (as it should) and the lower arm
is attempting to supinate. These actions cause a torsional force about the elbow : a hinge
joint, that is not designed to rotate around a longitudinal axis. A baseball pitcher who
attempts to throw a rise ball by supinating the forearm will find the elbow getting sore
first. If a correction in skill is not made, the injury will be more severe.
Pushing patterns differ from the other arm patterns that have been discussed in that they
are not defined by actions at the shoulder joint. Rather, pushing patterns are usually
expected when a heavy, or large, object is being projected or moved, or accuracy in
projection is needed. With pushing patterns, there are less active actions and more static
actions that occur. Inward rotation at the shoulder joint is usually static which limits the
range of movement in pronation at the forearm. Limiting the range of movement results
in less force produced.
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Examples of the pushing pattern include most shots in basketball (free throw, two (2) and
three (3) point shots), and throwing darts. The chest pass in basketball and the soccer two
hand overhead throw-in are also examples of pushing patterns. Note that the planes of
movement for the two previous actions are different from the other examples given.
The pushing pattern consists of the following movements if the primary plane of
movement is in the sagittal plane:
Shoulder
Joint
Flexion
Shoulder
Girdle
Abduction
Upward Rotation
Elevation
Inward rotation
(static)
Elbow/
Forearm
Extension
Wrist/
Hand
Flexion
Pronation
(static)
If the pushing pattern is performed primarily in the transverse plane, as in a chest pass,
its pattern would consists of the following movements:
Shoulder
Joint
Horizontal Flexion
Inward Rotation
(static)
Shoulder
Girdle
Abduction
Elbow/
Forearm
Extension/
Wrist/
Hand
Flexion
Pronation
(static)
Leg Patterns
Leg patterns are defined by the plane in which the pelvis moves. Generally speaking, the
pelvis will either move in the transverse plane or not. If the pelvis moves in the
transverse plane the body is attempting to generate a large amount of force. In this case
either the Two Feet in Contact with the Ground Pattern or the One Foot in Contact with
the Ground Pattern will be used. The transverse plane of movement of the pelvis
increases the range of movement for that skill, which in turn will increase the velocity
and force of the skill. The greater the force or velocity needed for a given skill, requires
either a One Foot or Two Feet in Contact with the Ground Pattern to be used by the
performer.
If the pelvis is carried in either of the other planes of movement (sagittal or frontal) then
either the Pushing Pattern or the No Feet in Contact with the Ground Pattern will be seen.
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Because of the lack of range of movement through which the pelvis is allowed to move,
less force is produced than when the pelvis moves through a greater range of motion.
The Two Feet in Contact with the Ground pattern is seen as the pelvis moves through the
transverse plane in such activities as batting, shot put, discus throw, javelin throw, tennis
forehand, softball pitch, or backhand in a racket sport. Note that both translation and
rotation occur. Greater force must be generated against the ground and then transferred
to the arm or arms.
The Two Feet in Contact with the Ground Pattern consists of the following joint
movements of the legs:
Hip
Front Leg:
Extension
Inward Rotation
Adduction
Knee
Ankle
Extension
Plantar Flexion
Back Leg:
Extension
Extension
Outward Rotation
Abduction
Plantar Flexion
Note that the designation of the front or back leg is the leg that is closer to or further from
the target, respectively. This designation is important since the individual has rotated the
trunk away from the target in the preparatory phase and then steps toward the target to
begin the force production phase.
The One Foot in Contact with the Ground Pattern also is seen as the pelvis moves
through the transverse plane in such activities as the take off in the high jump or the
support leg while performing a soccer kick.
The One Foot in Contact with the Ground Pattern consists of the following joint
movements of the leg:
Hip*
Extension
Inward Rotation
Adduction
Knee*
Extension
Ankle*
Plantar Flexion
*Note that these actions are identical to the actions of the front leg of the Two Feet in
Contact with the Ground pattern.
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Since force against the ground is produced by one leg, as opposed to two legs, less force
generally, is produced than is produced with the Two Feet in Contact with the Ground
pattern. Performing a skill like the discus throw or shot put, that requires maximum force
to be produced, with one foot in contact with the ground is considered an error in
performance.
When the pelvic girdle moves in a plane other that the transverse plane, one of two
patterns will be used: either the No Feet in Contact with the Ground pattern or the leg
pushing pattern.
The third leg pattern occurs when the individual must produce force while in the air, free
of any support. The No Feet in Contact with the Ground pattern is used in this case.
The individual attempts to perform a forceful movement in the air, but has nothing
against which to push. While in the air, the person must use their own segments to push
against, or limited force will be produced: therefore, Newton’s Third Law, the Law of
Action-Reaction will be utilized as the only option to produce force. One excellent
example of this leg pattern is the spike in volleyball. A skilled player will generate force
from their legs (Action 1) which will cause their trunk to move forward (slightly)
(Reaction 1). This first pair of action-reaction is followed by the non-hitting arm pulling
down (Action 2) resulting in the hitting arm moving through to hit the ball more
forcefully (Reaction 2), than if Newton’s Third Law were not used at all.
The No Feet in Contact with the Ground Pattern is as follows:
Hip
Flexion
Adduction
(slight)
Knee
Extension
Ankle
Plantar Flexion
At this point, it is appropriate to discuss the Kicking Pattern. Simplistically, the leg that
will kick the ball performs this pattern. This pattern also is associated with the front kick
and flying front kick in Tae Kwon Do Karate. Other kicks in the martial arts such as
side, roundhouse, back and the spinning kicks do not follow this pattern exactly, but are
modifications of this pattern.
The actions associated with the Kicking Pattern are:
Hip
Flexion
Adduction*
Knee
Extension
Ankle
Plantar Flexion*
*More adduction will be seen if the action is a soccer kick versus a straight on type of
kick. Note that the actions of the Kicking Pattern are identical to the No Feet in
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Contact with the Ground pattern. At contact with a ball, the dorsi flexors of the ankle
are firing in order to prevent hyper-plantar flexion, i.e. an injury. If a front kick is
performed in the martial arts, the foot is in active plantar flexion.
The Pushing Pattern is the final leg pattern discussed. The pelvis moves in a plane other
than the transverse plane i.e. either the sagittal or the frontal plane. Examples of this
pattern are the vertical jump, walking, running, leaping, takeoff in a long jump (all in the
sagittal plane) and leg actions when performing a cartwheel (frontal plane).
The actions associated with the Leg Pushing Pattern are as follows:
Hip
Extension
Knee
Extension
Ankle
Plantar Flexion
Note that even though the vertical jump is performed with two feet touching the ground it
is not a Two Feet in Contact with the Ground Pattern. The reason is by definition of the
leg patterns: the pelvis is not moving in the transverse plane.
As skills are taught and corrections made to a skill, the technique is pattern driven. The
patterns used follow specific and sequential rotations. If these patterns are not followed,
another principle of movement is violated. That other principle of movement is the
Summation of Forces Principle which states that the largest and slowest body parts begin
a movement, followed in order by smaller and faster body segments, until at
contact/release the smallest and fastest body part(s) are moving. At contact/release, the
segments are moving at their fastest linear and angular velocities for that movement.
If the sequencing of a skill is missing one or more actions, or if the body moves through
all the appropriate rotations, but out of the designated order, a lower skill level is
observed. Below is a schematic of the summation of forces principle for an overhand
throw.
Step toward target_______________
Largest body part and slowest.
Hip rotations________________
Trunk rotations___________
Shoulder rotations______
Elbow rotations______
Forearm rotation___
Wrist rotation ___
Contact/Release
Smallest body part and fastest.
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When correcting a skill, corrections should be made from the largest to the smallest body
part. Errors that occur close to the release phase usually are caused by errors occurring
earlier in the skill. Another way of stating this observation, is that, errors occurring in the
smaller body parts usually are caused by errors of the larger body parts, so correct the
larger body segments first. Often when the larger body parts are corrected, the errors in
the smaller body parts are corrected; this is more evident in beginner and intermediate
skilled individuals.
The Summation of Forces principle is also known as the Power Train and Kinetic Link
Theory. In some textbooks, this principle is referred to under the topic of angular
momentum.
Copyright 2001. V. Dianne Ulibarri. All Rights Reserved. KIN 330 Michigan State University.