types of joint

8/3/2019 Types of Joint

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Nicole Meliza Ann C . AbellaIV-2

Types of Joint

A joint is the point where two or more bones meet . There arethree 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 thespine.

A cartilagenous joint between two vertebrae

Synchondroses are temporary joints which are only present in

children, up until the end of puberty. For example

theepiphyseal platesin 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.
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Types of Synovial Joint

Joint Type Movement at joint Examples Structure

Hinge Flexion/Extension

Elbow/Knee Hinge joint

PivotRotation of one bone around

another

Top of the neck

(atlas and axis bones)Pivot Joint

Ball and

Socket

Flexion/Extension/Adduction/

Abduction/Internal & External

Rotation

Shoulder/Hip Ball and socket joint

Saddle


Abduction/Circumduction


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CMC joint of the

thumb

Saddle joint

Condyloid


Abduction/Circumduction

Wrist/MCP & MTP

jointsCondyloid joint

Gliding Gliding movements

Intercarpal joints Gliding joint

Planes of Motion and Terms of MovementThere are three planes of motion in which we move. If you think about it, most of our

movements are not straight up and down, or side to side etc, especially in sports. They tend to

combine a mixture of movements in different planes.

The three planes of motion are:

Sagittal Plane

The Sagittal plane passes through the body front to back, so dividing it into left and right. Movements in this

plane are the up and down movements of flexion and extension

Frontal Plane

The frontal plane divides the body into front and back. Movements in this plane are sideways movements, calledabduction and adduction

Transverse Plane

This plane divides the body into top and bottom. Movements in this plane are rotational in nature, such as

internal and external rotation, pronation and supination

Anatomical Neutral

This is the starting position for describing any movement. It is important that you know this to be able to


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understand what is meant by certain movement patterns. It is sometimes also called the anatomical starting

position or fundamental starting position.

Anatomical neutral is:

Standing upright

Legs together and knee straight

Toes pointing straight forwards

Arms by the side

Palms facing forwards

Movements

Flexion and Extension

Flexion is a movement in the sagittal plane, which decreases the angle at the moving joint. Extension is the

opposite movement, which increases the angle at the joint. Many types of synovial joint are capable of flexion

and extension (hinge; ball and socket; saddle; condyloid) including the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip and knee. Here

are some examples:

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


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(remember this by thinking adduction adds the body part to the centre). Adduction can also be moving the body

part across the centre line and to the other side of the body, shown in the hip abduction video below. Amongst

the joints capable of abduction and adduction are the shoulder and hip.

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).


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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.


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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.

types of joint

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