Component 1 ‒ 1.1.a.

Skeletal and
muscular systems

© OCR 2019
Learning outcomes
• By the end of this topic you should be able to demonstrate
knowledge and understanding of:
• role of muscles in creating movement
• types of movement and antagonistic pairs at hinge joints
• types of movement and antagonistic pairs at ball and socket joints
• types of movements and muscles of the wrist
• planes of movement
• analysing movement with reference to:
• joint type and movement produced
• gonist and Antagonist muscles involved
• Types of muscle contraction taking place

• structure and role of motor units in skeletal muscle contraction

• nervous stimulation of the motor unit
• muscle fibre types
• recruitment of different types of fibres during exercise of differing intensities
and during recovery
© OCR 2019
Timings
Topic Allocated time
Types of movement and antagonistic pairs at hinge joints 1 hour
Types of movement and antagonistic pairs at ball and socket 2 hours
joints
Know the types of movements and muscles of the wrist 1 hour
Role of muscles in creating movement 2 hours
Planes of movement 2 hours
Structure and role of motor units in skeletal muscle contraction 2 hours
Nervous stimulation of the motor unit 1 hour
Muscle fibre types 2 hours
Recruitment of different types of fibres during exercise of 2 hours
differing intensities and during recovery

Total 15 hours
© OCR 2019
Types of synovial joint (hinge joint)
Hinge joints
You need to know the make up of the knee and elbow joints.

© OCR 2019
Types of synovial joint (hinge joint)
Hinge joints
The muscles which create movement in the elbow joint.

Biceps Brachii
The muscle which contracts to cause
flexion of the elbow joint

Triceps Brachii
The muscle which contracts to cause
extension of the elbow joint

© OCR 2019
Types of movement at hinge joints
Movement at a hinge joint
FLEXION – Decreasing the angle
at a joint. (Bending the arm at the
elbow joint)
Flexion
EXTENSION - Increasing the
angle at a joint. (Straightening
the arm at the elbow joint)
Extension
© OCR 2019
Types of synovial joint (hinge joint)
Knee joint The muscles which create movement in the knee joint.

The muscles which contract to cause The muscles which contract to cause
flexion of the knee joint extension of the knee joint
© OCR 2019
Types of movement at hinge joints
Movement at a hinge joint
FLEXION – Decreasing the
angle at a joint. (Bending
the leg at the knee joint)
EXTENSION - Increasing the
angle at a joint. (Straightening
the leg at the knee joint)

Flexion Extension
TASK: Describe a specific sporting example of both Flexion and Extension at both
the Knee and the Elbow. © OCR 2019
Ankle joint
The ankle is a hinge joint. The articulating bones are the tibia, fibula and talus.

© OCR 2019
Ankle joint
Movements occurring at the ankle joint are dorsiflexion and plantarflexion.

The muscle which contracts

to cause dorsiflexion is the
tibialis anterior

Tibialis Anterior

Gastrocnemius
The muscles which contract
to cause plantarflexion are
the gastrocnemius and
soleus

© OCR 2019
Ankle joint – plantarflexion

Plantar flexion is where an athlete or performer

POINTS their toes. For example completing the
upward phase of a calf raise.

This is caused by contraction of the gastrocnemius

and soleus and relaxation of the tibialis anterior.

© OCR 2019
Ankle joint - dorsiflexion

Dorsi flexion is where an athlete or performer pushes

the toes up towards the knee.

For example, to maintain stability in a squat the ankle

joint will dorsiflex to keep the feet flat on the floor.

This is caused by contraction of the tibialis anterior

and relaxation of the gastrocnemius and soleus.

© OCR 2019
Types of synovial joint (ball and socket)
Ball and socket joints
You need to know the make up of the shoulder and hip joints.

Humeral Head

Femoral Head
(ball)

Acetabulum

Glenoid
cavity
(socket)

© OCR 2019
The shoulder joint (ball and socket)
Shoulder muscles
You need to know the make up of the muscles responsible for movement at
the shoulder.

The deltoid
The deltoid is divided into 3 sections.
• Anterior Deltoid
• Medial Deltoid
• Posterior Deltoid
These muscles will contract to cause any
movement involving raising of the arms
from the anatomical position.

© OCR 2019
The shoulder joint (ball and socket)
Upper back muscles

The Trapezius, Teres Minor and

Latissimus Dorsi

These muscles of the back oppose the

movement of the deltoid causing
movements which bring the arms down
from above the head or the arms back from
in front of the body.

© OCR 2019
The shoulder joint (ball and socket)
Chest muscles

The Pectoralis Majoris

These muscles of the chest also oppose
the movement of the deltoid causing
movements which bring the arms down
from above the head or the arms forwards
in front of the body.

© OCR 2019
Types of movement at ball and socket
joints
Ball and socket joints
Where the rounded end of one bone fits inside the
cup-shaped end of another bone.

Ball and socket joints allow movement in all directions.

These are the most mobile joints in the body.
Examples found in the body include the shoulder and hip
joints.
Why are these joints important for
sport?
Most sporting movements require the
type of movement the shoulder and
hip allow. i.e. tennis serve

© OCR 2019
Types of movement at ball and socket
joints - shoulder
Flexion and extension
FLEXION EXTENSION
Bringing the arms up from the Moving the arms forwards and down
anatomical position forwards over the from above the head. As in a
head as in a block in volleyball volleyball spike.

© OCR 2019
Types of movement at ball and socket
joints - shoulder
Medial and lateral rotation
ROTATION
Movement where the articulating bones turn around their longitudinal axis in a
screwdriver action.

MEDIAL ROTATION is where the

movement is towards the midline of the
body as in the forehand top spin follow
through of a tennis player

LATERAL ROTATION is where the

movement is away from the midline of
the body as in the backhand top spin
follow through of a table tennis player

© OCR 2019
Types of movement at ball and socket
joints
Adduction and abduction
ADDUCTION
Sideways moving limb towards midline
of the body.
REMEMBER: Adduction is to
ADD towards the midline.
ABDUCTION
Sideways moving limb away from midline
of the body
REMEMBER: Abduction is to
TAKE AWAY from the midline.

© OCR 2019
Types of movement at ball and socket
joints
Movement at a ball and socket joint
Rotation/Circumduction: The joint moves in a circular motion e.g. service action
or bowling action.
Let’s see if you fully understand…

TASK 1: Draw and describe a simple diagram of the Knee

Joint and label the bones that move around this (the
Articulating Bones).

TASK 2: Name a Physical Activity that involves both

Flexion and Extension of the Knee Joint.

TASK 3: Draw and describe a simple diagram of the Hip

Joint and label the bones that move around this (the
Articulating Bones).

TASK 4: Describe a skill in a physical activity that involves

both abduction and adduction of the hip joint.

© OCR 2019
Types of movement at ball and socket
joints
Movement at a ball and socket joint
Flexion and Extension: Increasing and decreasing the angle at
the joint.
Abduction and Adduction: determined from the ‘MIDLINE’ of
the body.

Abduction Adduction

© OCR 2019
Types of movement at the shoulder
joint
Horizontal flexion and extension
Horizontal flexion/extension: The arm or leg move parallel to the ground
forward (horizontal flexion) or backwards (horizontal extension).

For example: The boxer delivering a right

hook will move the arm parallel to the
ground forwards creating horizontal
flexion.
This would be caused by contraction of the
pectoralis majoris and the anterior
deltoid.
The preparation phase of the right hook
when the arm is drawn back would be
horizontal extension.

© OCR 2019
Wrist joint
The wrist is a condyloid joint which is the second most moveable synovial joint

Movement at the wrist includes flexion and extension.

Flexion is where the hand is brought forwards and

upwards from the anatomical position, and extension is
where the hand is brought backwards and downwards.

© OCR 2019
Muscles of the wrist joint

The wrist flexors contract

to cause flexion of the
wrist joint.

The wrist extensors

contract to cause
extension of the wrist
joint.

© OCR 2019
Planes and axes of motion
The body is capable of movement in three planes of motion:

* FRONTAL

* TRANSVERSE

* SAGITTAL.

© OCR 2019
Planes and axes of motion
The transverse plane

The transverse plane is

where any form of rotation
occurs around the
longitudinal axis.
For example a spin in ice
skating. It is also associated
with horizontal flexion and
extension.

© OCR 2019
Planes and axes of motion
Frontal plane
The frontal plane divides the
body into front and back
halves. Movements are
largely towards or away from
the midline of the body.

Abduction and Adduction of

the shoulder and hip occur in
the frontal plane.

Examples of movements in
this plane are cartwheel and
star jumps.

© OCR 2019
Planes and axes of motion
Sagittal plane
The sagittal plane
divides the body into left
and right halves down
the midline of the body. It
is largely associated with
flexion and extension of
the joints.
Examples of movements
in this plane are the
knee joint when striking
a football or a
somersault in
gymnastics.

© OCR 2019
Functional roles of muscles and types
of contraction
Antagonistic pairs

Skeletal muscles do not work in

isolation at a joint to create
movement. At each joint there
will be two or more muscles
which act in opposition to create
movement. These muscles are
known as the agonist and
antagonist.

© OCR 2019
Functional roles of muscles and types
of contraction
Antagonistic pairs
AGONIST – the muscle responsible for
creating movement at a joint. Also
known as a prime mover e.g. the bicep
brachii contracting in the upward phase
of a bicep curl.

ANTAGONIST – the muscle that

opposes the agonist providing a
resistance for coordinated movement.
The tricep brachii relaxing in the
upward phase of a biceps curl.

FIXATOR – the muscle that contracts to

stabilize an area of the body to enable
efficient movement.
© OCR 2019
Functional roles of muscles and types
of contraction Skeletal muscle fibres are only capable of
Muscle contractions contracting or relaxing. By contracting the
muscle creates a force against the bones of
the skeleton to create movement at a joint.
There are two main types of contraction,

ISOTONIC contractions are where the

muscle contracts and changes length which
will create movement at the joint.

ISOMETRIC contractions are where the

muscle contracts creating a force but no
movement takes place.

An example of an isometric muscle

contraction is the deltoid in the crucifix on
the rings in gymnastics.
© OCR 2019
Functional roles of muscles and types
of contraction
Muscle contractions

There are two types of ISOTONIC

contractions:

CONCENTRIC contraction where the muscle

contracts and shortens reducing the angle between
articulating bones at a joint. For example the biceps
brachii in the upward phase of a bicep curl.

ECCENTRIC contraction where the muscle contracts

and lengthens producing tension. This helps to resist
forces like gravity to control joint movement.
The biceps brachii contracts eccentrically in the
downward phase of the bicep curl to control the bar
down to its original position.
© OCR 2019
Movement analysis
You will be required to consider a diagram,
illustration or described situation and
identity:
• joint type
• movement produced
• agonist and antagonist muscles
• types of muscular contraction.

For example, the knee joint of the

footballer’s right leg in the picture is a
hinge joint, the movement at present is
flexion the agonist muscle is the biceps
femoris which is producing a concentric
muscle contraction and the antagonist is
the rectus femoris.
© OCR 2019
Movement analysis tables
Joint Joint type Movement Agonist Antagonist
Flexion Biceps Brachii Triceps Brachii
Elbow Hinge
Extension Triceps Brachii Biceps Brachii
Flexion Biceps Femoris Rectus Femoris
Semimembranosus Vastus Lateralis
Semitendinosus Vastus Medialis
Vastus Intermedius
Knee Hinge
Extension Rectus Femoris Biceps Femoris
Vastus Lateralis Semimembranosus
Vastus Medialis Semitendinosus
Vastus Intermedius
Dorsiflexion Tibialis Anterior Gastrocnemius
Soleus
Ankle Hinge
Plantarflexion Gastrocnemius Tibialis Anterior
Soleus

© OCR 2019
Movement analysis tables
Joint Joint type Movement Agonist Antagonist
Flexion Wrist Flexor Wrist Extensor
Wrist Condyloid
Extension Wrist Extensor Wrist Flexor
Flexion Iliopsoas Gluteus Maximus
Extension Gluteus Maximus Iliopsoas
Abduction Gluteus Medius Adductor Brevis
Gluteus Minimus Adductor Longus
Adductor Magnus
Ball and
Hip Adduction Adductor Brevis Gluteus Medius
Socket
Adductor Longus Gluteus Minimus
Adductor Magnus
Medial Rotation Gluteus Medius Gluteus Maximus
Gluteus Minimus
Lateral Rotation Gluteus Maximus Gluteus Medius
Gluteus Minimus

© OCR 2019
Movement analysis tables
Joint Joint type Movement Agonist Antagonist
Anterior Deltoid Posterior Deltoid
Flexion
Pectoralis Majoris Latissimus Dorsi
Posterior Deltoid Anterior Deltoid
Extension
Latissimus Dorsi Pectoralis Majoris
Latissimus Dorsi Medial Deltoid
Abduction
Pectoralis Majoris
Medial Deltoid Latissimus Dorsi
Adduction
Ball and Pectoralis Majoris
Shoulder
Socket Horizontal Pectoralis Majoris Posterior Deltoid
Flexion Teres Minor
Horizontal Posterior Deltoid Pectoralis Majoris
Extension Teres Minor
Teres Major Teres Minor
Medial Rotation
Subscapularis Infraspinatus
Teres Minor Teres Major
Lateral Rotation
Infraspinatus Subscapularis

© OCR 2019
The motor unit and skeletal muscle
contraction
A skeletal muscle can only contract when
stimulated by an electrical impulse sent from
the central nervous system.

Motor Neurons are specialised cells which

transmit nerve impulses to the skeletal
muscle fibres causing them to contract and
thus creating movement. The motor neuron
and associated muscle fibres are known as
a MOTOR UNIT.

© OCR 2019
Action potential
Sending the nerve impulse to the muscle
fibres is an electrochemical process
which relies on an ACTION POTENTIAL
to conduct the nerve impulse down the
axon to the motor end plate.

The dendrites collect the signals and the

axon transmits the signal to the
neuromuscular junction.

© OCR 2019
Neuromuscular junction
The point where the axon’s motor end plate meets
the muscle fibre is known as the
NEUROMUSCULAR JUNCTION. The gap between
the end plate and the muscle fibre is known as the
SYNAPTIC CLEFT.

Once an impulse reaches the end plate it stimulates

the vesicle to release the neurotransmitter
ACETYLCHOLINE (Ach) which is then secreted
across the synaptic cleft.

If Ach is secreted above a threshold then the action

potential will be transmitted into a muscular
contraction.

© OCR 2019
All or none law
If a motor unit receives a stimulus to create an action
potential that has reached threshold all the muscle
fibres within the motor unit will contract at the same
time and with maximum force.

If the action potential does not reach threshold, none

of the fibres will contract.

This is known as the ALL OR NONE LAW.

© OCR 2019
Muscle fibre types
Any one skeletal muscle can contain three
different types of muscle fibre.

Each fibre type has different characteristics

which determine the duration and intensity of
the exercise being undertaken and the type of
contraction taking place.

The muscle fibres are:

Type 1 – Slow Oxidative

Type 2a – Fast Oxidative Glycolytic

Type 2b – Fast Glycolytic

© OCR 2019
Slow oxidative muscle fibres
Slow oxidative muscle fibres are designed to
store oxygen in MYOGLOBIN and process the
oxygen in the MITOCHONDRIA to break down
fats and glucose in to ATP the only useable form
of energy in the human body.

For this reason the slow oxidative fibres have a

high density of mitochondria and myoglobin and a
dense network of capillaries to transport the
oxygen to the cells.

© OCR 2019
Slow oxidative muscle fibres
These fibres work aerobically, which means
they can withstand fatigue for long periods, but
can only produce a small amount of force in the
contraction.

Each individual has a different make up of

muscle fibres within the muscle itself which will
determine the type of activity they are
successful at.

For example the gastrocnemius of a long

distance runner may have around 70% slow
oxidative fibres optimizing performance in
endurance events.

© OCR 2019
Fast glycolytic muscle fibres
Fast glycolytic muscle fibres are suited to
those athletes involved in explosive, power
events such as Shot Put and 100m sprint.

Unlike SO muscle fibres they can exert a

large force and have a fast contraction and
relaxation time. They have large stores of
PHOSPHOCREATINE which enables an
immediate energy supply.

© OCR 2019
Fast glycolytic muscle fibres
They work anaerobically and as such can
only last a short duration before fatigue.

They are the largest type of fibre and have

large neurons with many fibres connected to
one neuron which helps to exert a larger
force of contraction.

A shot putter would most likely have a very

high percentage of type 2b fibres in the
deltoids, pectoralis majoris and quadriceps.

© OCR 2019
Fast oxidative glycolytic muscle fibres
Fast oxidative glycolytic muscle are
structurally designed to produce a large
amount of force relatively quickly but
are also able to resist fatigue.

Similar to Type 2b muscle fibres they

have large neurons which innervate
many muscle fibres at once.

They also have large stores of

phosphocreatine which help to maintain
a good anaerobic capacity.

© OCR 2019
Fast oxidative glycolytic muscle fibres
However, unlike slow oxidative fibres they have moderate mitochondrial and
myoglobin density which results in only moderate fatigue resistance and aerobic
capacity.

© OCR 2019
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© OCR 2019 - This resource may be freely copied and distributed, as long as the OCR logo and this message remain intact and OCR is acknowledged as the originator of this work. OCR acknowledges the use of the following content:

4: The elbow joint/Alila Medical Media/Shutterstock.com; Anatomy of the
knee/Viktoriia Panchenko/Shutterstock.com
5: Biceps and triceps/stihii/Shutterstock.com
6: American football player(flexion and extension)/Aspen
Photo/Shutterstock.com/EDIT
7: Knee joint: hamstring/quadriceps/Alila Medical
Media/Shutterstock.com
8: Footballer (flexion/extension)/Ljupco Smokovski/Shutterstock.com
9: Ankle joint/Alila Medical Media/Shutterstock.com
10: Tibialis Anterior and Gastrocnemius/Sebastian
Kaulitzki/Shutterstock.com
11: Calf raise/Alan Poulson Photography/Shutterstock.com
12: Sit up /Dean Drobot/Shutterstock.com
13: Shoulder joint/Designua/Shutterstock.com; hip joint/Alila Medical
Media/Shutterstock.com
14: Shoulder muscles (deltoris anterior)/decade3d - anatomy
online/Shutterstock.com
15: Upper back muscles (The Trapezius, Teres Minor and Latissimus
Dorsi)/medicalstocks/Shutterstock.com
16: Chest muscles (Pectoralis Majoris)/decade3d - anatomy
online/Shutterstock.com
17: Shoulder joint/Designua/Shutterstock.com; ball joint/Aldona
Griskeviciene/Shutterstock.com; tennis player 1, 2, 3/ OSTILL is Franck
Camhi/Shuttterstock.com
18: Volleyball/CP DC Press/Shutterstock.com/EDIT
19: Tennis player/Mai Groves/Shutterstock.com/EDIT
20: Rowers/Jaysi/Shutterstock.com; beach ball/Kzenon/Shutterstock.com
21: Rotation/circumduction/Auttapon Wongtakeaw/Shutterstock.com;
Bowler/imagedb/Shutterstock.com
22: Abduction/adduction/Auttapon Wongtakeaw/Shutterstock.com; tennis
player/ OSTILL is Franck Camhi/Shuttterstock.com; silhouette/Anna
Rassadnikova/Shutterstock.com
23: Boxing/Dima Sidelnikov/Shutterstock.com
24: Human arm bones/3DM/Shutterstock.com
25: Muscles of the wrist (flexors and extensors)/Alila Medical
Media/Shutterstock.com
27: Transverse plane/Sebastian Kaulitzki/Shutterstock.com; figure
skating/DarioZg/Shutterstock.com/EDIT
28: Frontal plane/Sebastian Kaulitzki/Shutterstock.com; jumping
jacks/Syda Productions/Shutterstock.com
29: Sagittal plane/Blamb/Shutterstock.com; footballer/OSTILL is Franck
Camhi/Shutterstock.com
30, 31: Biceps/triceps/stihii/Shutterstock.com
32: Gymnast/Just dance/Shutterstock.com/EDIT
33: Muscle contractions/cirkoglu/Shutterstock.com
34: Footballer/OSTILL is Franck Camhi/Shutterstock.com
38: Nervous control of muscle/Blamb/Shutterstock.com
39: Motor neurons/Designua/Shutterstock.com
40, 41: Neuromuscular junction/joshya/Shutterstock.com
42: Muscle fibre/somersault1824/Shutterstock.com
43: Slow oxidative fibres/Designua/Shutterstock.com
44: Runner/lzf/Shutterstock.com
45, 46: Athlete/sportpoint/Shutterstock.com/EDIT
47, 48: Athletes running/Alfaguarilla/Shutterstock.com/EDIT

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