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Flexion
 
 
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In anatomy
Anatomy

Anatomy is a branch of biology that is the consideration of the body plan. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy and plant anatomy ....
, flexion is a position that is made possible by the joint angle decreasing. The skeletal (bone
Bone

Bones are rigid organ that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They function to move, support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red blood cell and white blood cells and store minerals....
s, cartilage
Cartilage

Cartilage is a type of dense connective tissue. It is composed of specialized cells called chondrocyte that produce a large amount of extracellular matrix composed of collagen fibers, abundant ground substance rich in proteoglycan, and elastin fibers....
, and ligaments) and muscular (muscle
MUSCLE

MUSCLE is public domain, multiple sequence alignment software for protein and nucleotide sequences.MUSCLE is integrated into UGENE bioinformatics tool as a plugin....
s and tendons) systems work together to move the joint into a "flexed" position. For example the elbow
Elbow

The elbow is the region surrounding the elbow-joint—the ginglymus or hinge joint in the middle of the arm. Three bones form the elbow joint: the humerus of the upper arm, and the paired radius and ulna of the forearm....
 is flexed when the hand
Hand

The hands are the two intricate, prehensile, multi-fingered body parts normally located at the end of each arm of a human or other primate. They are the chief organs for physically manipulating the environment, using anywhere from the roughest motor skills to the finest , and since the fingertips contain some of the densest areas of nerve e...
 is brought closer to the shoulder
Shoulder

In human anatomy, the shoulder joint comprises the part of the body where the humerus attaches to the scapula. The shoulder refers to the group of structures in the region of the joint....
. The trunk
Trunk

Trunk may refer to:In biology:*Trunk, torso*Trunk, an Elephant#Trunk*Trunk , a tree's central superstructureIn containers:*Trunk ...
 may be flexed toward the legs or the neck
Neck

The neck is the part of the body on many limbed vertebrates that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. The scientific term signifying "of the neck" is nuchal....
 to the chest
Chest

The chest is a part of the anatomy of humans and various other animals sometimes referred to as the thorax....
.

The opposite term is extension
Extension (kinesiology)

Extension is a movement of a joint that results in increased angle between two bones or body surfaces at a joint. Extension usually results in straightening of the bones or body surfaces involved....
, or straightening.






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Encyclopedia


In anatomy
Anatomy

Anatomy is a branch of biology that is the consideration of the body plan. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy and plant anatomy ....
, flexion is a position that is made possible by the joint angle decreasing. The skeletal (bone
Bone

Bones are rigid organ that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They function to move, support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red blood cell and white blood cells and store minerals....
s, cartilage
Cartilage

Cartilage is a type of dense connective tissue. It is composed of specialized cells called chondrocyte that produce a large amount of extracellular matrix composed of collagen fibers, abundant ground substance rich in proteoglycan, and elastin fibers....
, and ligaments) and muscular (muscle
MUSCLE

MUSCLE is public domain, multiple sequence alignment software for protein and nucleotide sequences.MUSCLE is integrated into UGENE bioinformatics tool as a plugin....
s and tendons) systems work together to move the joint into a "flexed" position. For example the elbow
Elbow

The elbow is the region surrounding the elbow-joint—the ginglymus or hinge joint in the middle of the arm. Three bones form the elbow joint: the humerus of the upper arm, and the paired radius and ulna of the forearm....
 is flexed when the hand
Hand

The hands are the two intricate, prehensile, multi-fingered body parts normally located at the end of each arm of a human or other primate. They are the chief organs for physically manipulating the environment, using anywhere from the roughest motor skills to the finest , and since the fingertips contain some of the densest areas of nerve e...
 is brought closer to the shoulder
Shoulder

In human anatomy, the shoulder joint comprises the part of the body where the humerus attaches to the scapula. The shoulder refers to the group of structures in the region of the joint....
. The trunk
Trunk

Trunk may refer to:In biology:*Trunk, torso*Trunk, an Elephant#Trunk*Trunk , a tree's central superstructureIn containers:*Trunk ...
 may be flexed toward the legs or the neck
Neck

The neck is the part of the body on many limbed vertebrates that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. The scientific term signifying "of the neck" is nuchal....
 to the chest
Chest

The chest is a part of the anatomy of humans and various other animals sometimes referred to as the thorax....
.

The opposite term is extension
Extension (kinesiology)

Extension is a movement of a joint that results in increased angle between two bones or body surfaces at a joint. Extension usually results in straightening of the bones or body surfaces involved....
, or straightening. Flexion decreases the angle between the bones of the limb at a joint, and extension increases it.

Note that specific flexion activities may occur only along the sagittal plane
Sagittal plane

A sagittal plane of the human body is an imaginary plane that travels from the top to the bottom of the body, dividing it into left and right portions....
, i.e. from the forward to backward direction, and not side-to-side direction, which is further discussed in abduction
Abduction (kinesiology)

Abduction, in functional anatomy, is a movement which draws a Limb away from the median plane of the body. It is thus opposed to adduction....
.

Exercises

Active range of motion
Range of motion

Range of motion or , as used in the biomedical and weightlifting communities, is the measurement of the achievable distance between the flexed position and the extended position of a particular joint or muscle group....
 exercises include movements such as flexion and extension. These exercises are used after an injury or surgery. They are done by a physical therapist or nurse initially, and may be continued by the patient.

In the healing process, active range of motion exercises should avoid forcing the appendage into the extension or flexion position. The stress induced may re-injure the affected appendage (limb).

Muscles of flexion


Lower limb

  • of femur
    Femur

    The femur, or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs....
    /thigh
    Thigh

    In human anatomy the thigh is the area between the pelvis and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the Human leg.The single bone in the thigh is called the femur....
     at hip (L1-L2)
    • Ilio psoas
    • Tensor fasciae latae
      Tensor fasciae latae

      The tensor fasciae latae or tensor fasci? lat? is a muscle of the thigh....
    • Rectus femoris
    • (additional minor contributions from other hip flexors
      Hip flexors

      In human anatomy, the hip flexors are a group of skeletal muscles that act to Flexion the femur onto the lumbo-pelvic complex, i.e. "pull the knee upward"....
      )


  • of leg
    Leg

    Leg may refer to the following places in Poland:*A former name for the town of Elk *Leg, Lower Silesian Voivodeship *Leg, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship ...
     at knee
    Knee

    ----The knee is the lower extremity joint connecting the femur, patella, and the tibia and the surrounding anatomical region which includes the popliteal fossa, also known as "knee pit"....
     (L5-S2)
    • Posterior compartment of thigh
      Posterior compartment of thigh

      The posterior fascial compartment of the thigh contains the knee flexors and hip extensors.It consists of the following muscles:* biceps femoris muscle...
      /Hamstring
      Hamstring

      In human anatomy, a hamstring refers to one of the tendons that make up the borders of the space behind the knee. In modern anatomical contexts, however, they usually refer to the tendons of the semitendinosus, the semimembranosus and the biceps femoris....
      s
      • Biceps femoris
        Biceps femoris muscle

        The biceps femoris is a muscle of the posterior thigh. As its name implies, it has two parts, one of which forms part of the hamstrings muscle group....
      • Semitendinosus
        Semitendinosus muscle

        The semitendinosus is a muscle in the back of the thigh; it is one of the hamstrings....
      • Semimembranosus
        Semimembranosus muscle

        The semimembranosus is a muscle in the back of the thigh. It is the most medial of the three hamstring muscles....
    • Gracilis
      Gracilis muscle

      The Gracilis is the most superficial muscle on the medial side of the thigh. It is thin and flattened, broad above, narrow and tapering below....
    • Sartorius
      Sartorius muscle

      The Sartorius muscle is a long thin muscle that runs down the length of the thigh. It is the longest muscle in the human body. Its upper portion forms the lateral border of the femoral triangle....
    • Tensor fasciae latae
      Tensor fasciae latae

      The tensor fasciae latae or tensor fasci? lat? is a muscle of the thigh....
    • Gastrocnemius
      Gastrocnemius muscle

      In humans, the gastrocnemius muscle is a very powerful superficial muscle that is in the back part of the lower leg and also called the calf....
    • Popliteus
      Popliteus muscle

      The popliteus muscle in the leg is used to unlock the knee by laterally rotating the femur on the tibia during a closed chain movement ....
    • Plantaris
      Plantaris muscle

      Plantaris is a vestigial structure and one of the superficial muscles of the posterior crural compartment of the leg.It is innervated by the tibial nerve ....
       (negligible)


  • of toes
    • Posterior compartment of leg
      Posterior compartment of leg

      The posterior compartment of the leg is supplied by the tibial nerve.It contains the plantar flexors:* deep: popliteus muscle, Flexor hallucis longus muscle, flexor digitorum longus muscle, tibialis posterior muscle...
      • Flexor hallucis longus
      • Flexor digitorum longus
    • Flexor digitorum brevis
    • Quadratus plantae
    • Flexor hallucis brevis
    • Flexor digiti minimi brevis
      Flexor digiti minimi brevis muscle (foot)

      The Flexor digiti minimi brevis lies under the metatarsal bone of the little toe, and resembles one of the Interossei.It arises from the base of the fifth metatarsal bone, and from the sheath of the Peron?us longus; its tendon is inserted into the lateral side of the base of the first Phalanx bones of the fifth toe....


  • of proximal phalanges
    Proximal phalanges

    Proximal phalanges are bones found in the limbs of most vertebrates. In humans, they are the bones at the base of a toe or finger, the prominent, knobby ends of which are often called the knuckles....
     at metatarsophalangeal joint
    • Lumbrical muscle (foot)
      Lumbrical muscle (foot)

      The Lumbricals are four small muscles, accessory to the tendons of the Flexor digitorum longus and numbered from the medial side of the foot; they arise from these tendons, as far back as their angles of division, each springing from two tendons, except the first....
    • Plantar interossei
    • Dorsal interossei


Other

  • torso
    Torso

    Torso is an anatomical term for the central part of the many animal bodies from which extend the neck and limbs. It is sometimes referred to as the trunk....
    /lumbar vertebrae
    Lumbar vertebrae

    The lumbar vertebrae are the largest segments of the movable part of the vertebral column, and are characterized by the absence of the foramen transversarium within the transverse process, and by the absence of facets on the sides of the body....
    • Rectus abdominis muscle
      Rectus abdominis muscle

      The rectus abdominis muscle is a paired muscle running vertically on each side of the anterior wall of the human abdomen . There are two parallel muscles, separated by a midline band of connective tissue called the Linea_alba_%28abdomen%29 ....


  • neck
    Neck

    The neck is the part of the body on many limbed vertebrates that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. The scientific term signifying "of the neck" is nuchal....
     at atlanto-occipital joint
    Atlanto-occipital joint

    The Atlanto-occipital joint consists of a pair of condyloid joints....
    • Longus capitis muscle
      Longus capitis muscle

      The longus capitis , broad and thick above, narrow below, arises by four tendinous slips, from the anterior tubercles of the transverse processes of the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth cervical vertebr?, and ascends, converging toward its fellow of the opposite side, to be inserted into the inferior surface of the basilar part of the occipita...


See also

  • Hip flexors
    Hip flexors

    In human anatomy, the hip flexors are a group of skeletal muscles that act to Flexion the femur onto the lumbo-pelvic complex, i.e. "pull the knee upward"....


Additional images


External links