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Glossary of terms

Common terms used by physios that are helpful to remember!

Planes: anterior, posterior, lateral, medial, superior, inferior Anterior: the ‘front’ planes; checking anterior rest position Posterior: the 'back' planes; supporting posterior to help standing position Lateral: the 'side' planes; lying in a lateral position Medial: the 'inside' planes; taking a medial hold on the arm Superior: the 'on top' plane of the body; reaching upward in the superior plane Inferior: the 'underside' plane of the body; inferior rolling on a ball Movement: extension, flexion, adduction, abduction, rotation, internal, external Extension: the 'stretch' movement; standing fully extended Flexion: the 'bend' movement; knee and hip in flexion Abduction: widening the angle from a joint; abducting knee and hip joints Adduction: closing the angle from a joint; adducting knee and hip joints Rotation: the 'turning' movement; rotating knee and hip joints Internal: turning a plane of the body 'inward'; palm of hand rotated internally External: turning a plane of the body 'outwards'; palm of hand rotated exnternally Points: caudad, cephalad, distal, proximal Caudad: points close to the'end' (tail and sacrum); checking caudad relaxation Cephalad: points close to the 'top' (head and neck); stretching cephalad muscles Proximal: closest points to the body; encouraging proximal movement Distal: furthest points from thebody; encouraging distal movement
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