Circumduction is a movement that allows the figure of a cone to be drawn.
Circumduction is a circular movement that combines adduction , abduction , extension and flexion . In this way, the sector of the body that moves manages to draw the figure of a cone .
Few joints can perform the conical movement characteristic of circumduction. The shoulder and hip , for example, allow circumduction since they make it possible to trace a wide circular path.
It can be said that circumduction is a set of movements . Inside a joint cavity, the bone moves to describe a circumference at its distal end. Because the base is the joint , circumduction creates a cone movement.
Types of circumduction
Take the case of shoulder circumduction . As we said above, circumduction involves adduction (the approximation of the bone to the midline), abduction (the separation of the bone from the midline), extension (one bone is stretched over another, increasing the angle between both) and flexion (one bone bends over another, minimizing the angle). All of these continuous movements form the circumduction that allows a person to draw circles with their arms.
Hip circumduction , meanwhile, encompasses movements that are carried out around three axes. In its greatest amplitude, the axis of the lower limb traces a cone with a vertex that is the center of the coxofemoral joint. Since the maximum amplitudes are not identical in all directions, the cone in question is irregular.
Circumduction of the neck can help relieve pain in the area.
Some exercises
Up to this point we have defined the technical aspects that arise from the mere observation of the body. In other words, our joints are capable of performing the movements that we have described and that, when acting together, give rise to circumduction. However, beyond its use in anatomy, knowing these issues also helped to design a wide variety of physical exercises to complement the gym routine and keep different parts of the body healthy.
One of the several exercises that can be done to work the body taking advantage of circumduction focuses on the trunk . The first step is to tilt it towards one of the sides; In this case, let's start to the right. As the next movement, we must place our hands on the sides of the waist to perform hyperextension , the extension of the torso backwards, so that our vision points slightly upward.
The third step is to tilt the trunk towards the opposite side, which in this example is the left. Always with our hands on our waist, we must carry out the movement opposite to hyperextension, which is simply called extension : it consists of rotating the torso forward, as if we wanted to bend over to pick up something from the ground. The time comes for the last movement, which consists of returning to the initial position , to repeat the entire process a few times.
Circumduction of the neck
It is also possible to take advantage of neck circumduction to work your muscles. In this case we will have the following movements: we begin by flexing the neck, that is, bringing the head forward in a rotation movement that gently brings the chin closer to the neck; then we tilt it to one side; we extend it, that is, we move our head backwards, as if we wanted to look towards the sky; Finally we tilt it to the opposite side, to continue repeating the steps until we decide to reverse the direction of rotation.
Note that all these movements can lead to different types of joint damage if we do not do them taking certain precautions , both in the limits and in the number of repetitions. It is recommended to learn them from an expert before deciding to do them on our own.