Muscles, bones and movements of the upper body

Overview

The shoulder joint and girdle, horizontal flexion and extension in a forehand, abduction in a star jump, adduction in a climber's wide grip, the trapezius, circumduction and rotation, the elbow's hinge action, the wrist and hand, and pronation and supination at the radio-ulnar joints.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Which bones form the shoulder joint and the shoulder girdle?

   Model answer

   The head of the humerus fits into the glenoid fossa of the scapula. The clavicle links the scapula to the sternum, completing the shoulder girdle.

2. 2

   What type of joint is the shoulder, and what range of movement does that give it?

   Model answer

   The shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint. A ball-and-socket joint allows movement in every plane, including rotation and circumduction.

3. 3

   Which muscles produce horizontal flexion at the shoulder as a tennis player swings a forehand across the body?

   Model answer

   The pectoralis major and the anterior deltoid pull the arm forwards across the chest.

4. 4

   Which muscle produces horizontal extension at the shoulder during the backswing of a forehand?

   Model answer

   The posterior deltoid draws the arm backwards in the horizontal plane.

5. 5

   What movement happens at the shoulder as the arms rise sideways in a star jump, and which muscle drives it?

   Model answer

   The shoulder abducts, moving the arm away from the midline of the body. The deltoid, mainly its middle fibres, is the agonist.

6. 6

   Which muscles adduct the shoulder as a climber pulls the body up with a wide grip?

   Model answer

   The latissimus dorsi is the main agonist for adduction. The pectoralis major assists it.

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