THE PLANE OF MOVEMENTS EXPLANED!
First and foremost, those are not typos above...just saying!
In motion analysis it all begins with the anatomical position, as our "relative zero". Thus, every analysis of movement is relative to the anatomical position. In the anatomical position, the person stands facing us with their palms facing us (see the image above).
Excluding the possibility of hyper extension and hyper flexion movements, it can be considered as the opposite position to the fetus position. While the anatomical position is achieved by extension of the main joints of the body, the fetus position is achieved by flexion of the main joints of the body.
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Three distinctive planes of motion are used in motion analysis: the sagittal plane of motion, the frontal plane of motion, and the traverse/horizontal plane of motion (I will address the traverse plane of motion as the horizontal, since it is easier to teach that way). Each plane of motion is going to cross the body in a certain way, and as a result, divide the body (theoretically) in a certain way.
The sagittal plane of motion crosses the body from front to back or from back to front, dividing the body to its left and right halves. Thus, any movement where a part of parts of the body are moving forward, backwards, or back and forth, are movements within the sagittal plane of movement.
The frontal plane of motion crosses the body from left to right or from right to left, dividing the body to its front and back halves. Thus, any movement where a part of parts of the body are moving sideways (without moving forward or backwards at the same time), up or down (without moving forward or backwards at the same time), are movements within the frontal plane of movement.
The traverse/horizontal plane of motion crosses the body parallel to the floor/ground, dividing the body to its upper and lower halves. Thus, any movement where a part of parts of the body are moving parallel to the floor/ground, are movements within the horizontal plane of movement.
While the initial presentation of the definitions and explanations of each plane of movement suggests that movements occur only in one plane of movement at a time, movements can actually span more than one plane of movement at a time. Such movements tend to involve more muscles and/or muscle heads.
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