How Do We Move? (Joints, Muscles, Tendons)

Hello, don't be scared of the skeleton you see here. Our Skeleton is formed by all of our bones put together. However, a skeleton by itself does not move. But why can we move? To find out, let's explore "How Do We Move?" A joint is a connection that holds together bones while providing support and allowing movement where it is needed. There are many different types of joints. Today, we will look at two different types of joints: the hinge joint and the ball joint. The hinge joint is like a door because it can move in two directions. Body parts with a hinge joint you can bend and stretch. Try moving different parts of your body, can you find any hinge joints? The elbow joint and the knee joint are hinge joints. The finger joints also function in this way. On your fingers you can see the joints well because they are thicker than the finger bones. The skin over the joints has folding. Try moving your fingers and look at how they bend and stretch. Some body parts, such as the arms, need to be able to move in more than two directions. The ball joint allows your arms and other body parts to move in different directions.

One example of a ball joint is your shoulder joint. Try it yourself: Make some space, and move your arms in circles.

Do you see how your ball joint helps your arms be mobile, or move freely? Even though your bones are hard and immovable, your joints are the reason you can move! What else helps our skeleton move? Our muscles and tendons! Muscles pull on tendons to move our bones. On the back of our foot is the famous Achilles tendon. Press pause and see if you can find it on the back of your foot!

The tendon feels like a solid rope. Ligaments also help us move by ensuring that the bones are connected to each other so that nothing slips when we are moving. Whoops! Remember, the hinge joint allows our body parts to bend and stretch in two directions. The ball joint allows us to move in different directions.

Bones are connected with joints, and also have tendons that attach the muscles to the bones. That way, the power of the muscles can be passed on to the bones. Ligaments ensure that the bones are connected to each other, so nothing slips when we are moving. Finally, we move our muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints to wave and say: Goodbye and thank you for watching!