RESOURCES - ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY TERMS
Posterior Chain - A group of muscles, tendons, and ligaments that work together on the back side of the body and include the erector spinae, the gluteus muscles, hamstrings and adductors.
Anterior Chain - A group of muscles, tendons, and ligaments that work together on the front side of the body and include the pectoralis muscles, the abdominals and the quadriceps.
ROM - Range of Motion refers to all the ranges of movement that a particular joint can move through, eg. Flexion, extension
Flexion - The angle of a joint decreases, eg. Bringing the calf up to the hamstring is flexion of the knee.
Note: joints flex, muscles contract (the elbow flexes and the bicep contracts)
Extension - The angle of a joint increases, eg. Extension of the hips is increasing/opening the angle between the torso and the thighs.
Contraction Types:
1. Concentric - The muscle shortens while it is contracting against resistance, eg. The abdominal contract concentrically during a sit-up.
2. Eccentric - The muscle lengthens while it is contracting against resistance, eg. The tricep eccentrically contracts while lowering the barbell from the top of an overhead press.
3. Isometric - Resistance applied to the contraction increases muscle tension without producing movement of the joint, eg. A wall sit
Levels of the Spine – The spine consists of 4 levels that make up the “neutral spine”:
1. Cervical (C1-C7 vertebrae) – has a lordotic curve (concave)
2. Thoracic (T1-T12 vertebrae and their associated ribs) – has a kyphotic curve (convex)
3. Lumbar (L1-L5) – has a lordotic curve (concave)
4. Sacral (S1-S5 fused, although some have separate S1)
Lordotic Curve/Lordosis – The natural curve in the low back. In CrossFit we reinforce the importance of maintaining this curve to protect the joints in the spine including the discs.
Pelvic tilt - In our case we are referring to the tilt around a horizontal axis. The tilt can be forward/anterior or backward/posterior. If you imagine the pelvis like a bowl, then a forward/anterior pelvic tilt would pour water forwards out of the bowl. Anterior pelvic tilt increases the lordotic curve.
Frontal Plane: (aka Coronal Plane) This is an imaginary line that divides the body into front and back halves. With barbell movements we maintain the bar path in the frontal plane.
