Tips to Keep Joints Healthy

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You probably think of joints as the hinge-like type in your knees, but a joint is simply a connection between two bones. Some joints move freely, some move a little and some never move. Certain types of joints can perform certain kinds of movements.

Angular movements make the angle formed by two bones larger or smaller. Examples of these include the following:

• Abduction moves a body part to the side, away from the middle of the body. When you make a snow angel, and you move your arms and legs out and up, that’s abduction.

• Adduction moves a body part from the side toward the middle of the body. When you’re in snow angel position, and you move your arms and legs back down, that’s adduction.

• Extension makes the angle larger. Hyperextension occurs when the body part moves beyond a straight line (180 degrees).

• Flexion decreases the joint angle. When you flex your arm, you move your forearm to your upper arm.

Circular movements occur only at ball-and-socket joints, such as in the hip or shoulder. Examples include the following:

• Circumduction is the movement of a body part in circles.

• Depression is the downward movement of a body part.

• Elevation is the upward movement of a body part, such as shrugging your shoulders.

• Eversion happens only in the feet, when the foot is turned so the sole is outward.

• Inversion also happens only in the feet, when the foot is turned so that the sole is facing inward.

• Rotation is the movement of a body part around its own axis, such as shaking your head to answer, "No."

• Supination and pronation refer to the arm and stem from the terms supine and prone. Supination is the rotation of the lower arm to make the palm face upward or forward. Pronation is the rotation of the lower arm to make the palm face downward or backward.

The joints allow our bones to move. They are... Read more from: Tips to Keep Joints Healthy