THE SCIENCE OF HUMAN MOVEMENT

 Human movement science is the study of how people move in different contexts and of
the factors related to the analysis, improvement and recovery of physical activities.
Kinesiology is the scientific study of human movement. It addresses physiological,
biochemical, and psychological dynamic principles and mechanisms of movement.

TWO COMPONENTS OF HUMAN BODY

 Anatomy and Physiology. Anatomy is the study of the structure and relationship b
etween body parts. Physiology is the study of the function of body parts and the body as
a whole.

MAJOR BONES AND BONES GROUP

 Major Bones

The Skull
The skull contains the cranium, maxilla and mandible. The bones of the cranium are the upper
part of the skull and protect our brains from damage. The maxilla, also known as the upper jaw,
assists us with chewing our food, has openings for our nose and forms the lower section of our
eye sockets. The mandible, or lower jaw, is made up of two fused joints and is essential for the
movement that enables humans to chew food.

Shoulder Girdle
The shoulder girdle is made up of the clavicle and scapula. The scapula is commonly referred to
as the collarbone and helps to support the shoulder. The scapula, also called the shoulder blade,
helps to form the shoulder socket and aid rotational arm movement.

Rotating Arms
The arm bones consist of the humerus, radius and ulna. The humerus connects with the shoulder
socket in the upper arm. The radius and ulna are adjacent in the lower arm. The arm bones
connect with muscles, ligaments and the elbow joint to enable arm rotation and movement.

Dexterous Hands
Human hands are especially crucial for creating the dexterity required for tool use that has led to
our society today. The main bones in human hands are carpals, metacarpals and phalanges. The
carpals and metacarpals are made up of smaller bones for hand movement. The common name
for phalanges is fingers and thumbs.

Protective Chests
The chest contains the sternum and 24 ribs. The sternum, or breastbone, ribs and thoracic
vertebrae make up the ribcage, which helps protect the lungs and heart. With the help of
connecting muscles, the ribcage can expand and contract during respiration.

Spines Are the Body's Trunks

Spines are responsible for our posture and shock absorption when we walk or run. Spines also
contain the spinal cord, which is made up of nerve fibers that send messages back and forth
between the brain and body. The 24 bones in the human spine create an S-shape structure which
is divided into three main sections of vertebrae.

Pelvic Girdle
Human pelvic girdles are formed from three bones called the ilium, pubis and ischium. These
bones fuse in early adulthood. The pelvic girdle forms the hip socket, where the femur connects.

Powerful Legs
Three main bones called the femur, tibia and fibula make up human legs. These bones are
analogous to the arm bones. The femur is the main bone in the upper leg while the tibia and
fibula are in the lower leg. The knee joint, which helps with leg mobility, connects the upper and
lower leg.

Flexible Ankles
Ankles contain seven bones which are responsible for the rotation and movement of the feet. The
two main ankle bones are the talus and calcaneus. The talus connects with the tibia to form the
ankle joint. The large calcaneus, or heel bone, forms the back of the foot.

Two Feet for Walking

Like hands, feet are constructed of many small bones with the main segments called the tarsals,
metatarsals and phalanges. The tarsals and metatarsals are responsible for forming the arch in the
foot. The arch acts as a lever and helps give humans strength for walking. Phalanges, or toes, are
a lot thicker than fingers and assist with locomotion and balance.

 Bones Group

Skull
The cranium is the flat bone that covers and protects the brain and forms the shape of the face.
Eight bones, a frontal bone, two temporal bones, two parietal bones, an occipital bone, an
ethmoid bone and a sphenoid bone, fuse together during early childhood. Babies have spaces
between the bones in their skull to allow them to fit through the birth canal, explains kids health.
The maxilla, or upper jaw bone, and mandible, or lower jaw bone, as well as several small facial
bones, connect to the cranium to make up the skull.

Spine
The spine is made up of 24 irregular bones called the vertebrae, the sacrum and the coccyx,
according to Teacher Vision. The top seven vertebrae, called the cervical vertebrae, make up the
neck. The next 12, the thoracic vertebrae, attach to the ribs, and the last five vertebrae are in the
lumbar, or lower, region. Disks of cartilage separate all of the vertebrae. The sacrum is directly
below the lumbar vertebrae, and the coccyx is below that. These lower sections of the spine help
with balance and weight bearing. The sacrum is also the bone that is attached to the pelvis, or
hipbone.

Ribs
The ribs create a bony cage protecting organs such as the heart, lungs and liver. According to
KidsHealth, while most people have 12 pairs of ribs, occasionally someone has one extra or one
missing pair of ribs. The top seven ribs connect to the sternum, or breastbone. The sternum also
attaches to the clavicle, or collarbone. The thoracic vertebrae hold all 12 ribs in place.

Limbs
Several major bones make up your limbs. The arms each contain one humerus, which is the large
bone at the top of the arm, and two long bones in the forearm, which are the ulna and radius. The
carpals are the wrist bones. The long bone in the thigh, called the femur, and two long bones
running from the knee to the ankle, called the tibia and the fibula, make up the legs. The ankle
bones are called tarsals. The metacarpals and metatarsals are hand and foot bones, respectively,
and the phalanges are the finger and toe bones.

KINDS OF MUSCLE FIBER

Muscle fiber types can be broken down into two main types: slow twitch (Type I) muscle fibers
and fast twitch (Type II) muscle fibers. Fast twitch fibers can be further categorized into Type
IIa and Type IIb fibers.

Slow Twitch (Type I) - The slow muscles are more efficient at using oxygen to generate more
fuel (known as ATP) for continuous, extended muscle contractions over a long time. They fire
more slowly than fast twitch fibers and can go for a long time before they fatigue. Therefore,
slow twitch fibers are great at helping athletes run marathons and bicycle for hours.

Fast Twitch (Type II) - Because fast twitch fibers use anaerobic metabolism to create fuel, they
are much better at generating short bursts of strength or speed than slow muscles. However, they
fatigue more quickly. Fast twitch fibers generally produce the same amount of force per
contraction as slow muscles, but they get their name because they are able to fire more rapidly.
Having faster twitch fibers can be an asset to a sprinter since she needs to quickly generate a lot
of force.

Type IIa Fibers - These fast twitch muscle fibers are also known as intermediate fast-twitch
fibers. They can use both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism almost equally to create energy. In
this way, they are a combination of Type I and Type II muscle fibers.

Type IIb Fibers - These fast twitch fibers use anaerobic metabolism to create energy and are the
"classic" fast twitch muscle fibers that excel at producing quick, powerful bursts of speed. This
muscle fiber has the highest rate of contraction (rapid firing) of all the muscle fiber types, but it
also has a much faster rate of fatigue and can't last as long before it needs rest.

Ramela B. Baulite
Social Studies 1-A