Forearm, Wrist, and Hand
Our hands evolved from paws where their functions changed from weight bearing to manipulation and articulation. From our hunckering position through evolutions our hands were free to get food from plants and trees as well as to groom and have air-borne locomotion.
Rotating the forearm; tracing the bones of the forearm and wrist.
ReplyDeleteFor range of motion in the forearm, the radius is designed to cross over the ulna. In stabilizing your hand, moving the ulna and radius from the elbow joint such a fascinating movement for me to watch personally. When I stabilized my forearm, I then moved my wrist and the 8 carpals that make up the wrist joint. These eight carpals allow for mobility in a circular motion in the wrist joint. I could feel the muscles in my forearms being used still in the rotating process of the 8 carpals and my hand. Also, I'm left handed and I could tell when I felt both of my wrists move in this circular pattern and also my left wrist is bigger in size. Three levels of articulation are available in the wrist.... it's AMAZING!!!
On the thumb side of the hand, I then traced my radius up to my elbow. On the pinky finger side I traced my ulna up to my elbow as well. I found that the forearm had to be medially rotated so the radius was not rotated over the ulna and I could fell each bone all the way up to my elbow. The interosseous membrane and synovial fluids were activated during the last step of tracing in between the ulna and radius with the thumb on one side, and the rest of the fingers tracing on the other side. This is a great feeling that releases tension in the forearm, and because of stimulation of the synovial fluids in the forearms, I now understand why it feels so good. An individual can massage their own forearm and help release tension and pain.
KATIE
Rotating the forearm; tracing the bones of forearm and wrist
ReplyDeleteUnderstanding the bone structures of the forearm can be extremely helpful. Not only will it assist in articulation as a dancer, it will also help with applying corrections as a student.
The structure of the ulna and radius can initially be quite confusing. However, after having a brief understanding of its structure and location on the body, it becomes much easier to envision and process the rotations of the upper limbs.
Truthfully, I still get the rotations of these two bones mixed up. I know that the bone on the side of the thumb is the radius and the bone on the side of the pink is the ulna. However, they cross each other and this confuses me EVERY time. Tracing the bones of the forearms and wrist with my eyes closed really helps me with visioning and imagining what everything I am feeling actually looks like. The visuals of the bones of the forearms and wrist are also extremely helpful! With this exercise, I came to realize how SMALL my ulna and radius actually are! They’re TINY, long bones. For such small bones, they definitely are involved in many of the actions in my everyday life!
Our wrist is definitely one practical body part that we may often take advantage of. As I took time to rotate my wrist and observe its functions and connections… it would be hard to live without ‘em! It’s connections to our forearms and forearms to our elbows are significant to our life as active students and dancers.
THAO