Joints Q: What do you think a joint is? A: A joint is where two bones meet. It can be movable or fixed. Q: Why do you think we have joints? A: If we did not have joints we would find simple tasks like eating very difficult. Any movement needing bending would be impossible!!!!

Fun Fact Did you know that when people say that they are double jointed they do not actually have an extra joint? They just have ligaments that can stretch beyond normal range.

Where in our body do we find movable joints? Did you locate the joints in our body correctly?

Do you think that these joints all work in the same way? We actually have three main types of movable joints: A hinge joint 2) A ball and socket joint 3) A gliding joint

Types of common joints Hinge joint Ball and socket joint Gliding joint elbows,fingers,knee Hinge joint Ball and socket joint shoulder, hip Gliding joint back bone, finger base

Hinge joint Your toes use hinge joints (back-and-forth movements like hinges on a door). Elbows, knees and fingers also have these types of joints. Hinge joints are classified as a freely movable joint.

Did you know? A hinge joint works like a door. A hinge joint only moves back and forth. Your knuckles, knees, and elbows all are hinge joints. In fact your knee is the biggest joint in the body.

Ball and socket joint The hips and shoulders contain ball-and-socket joints In a ball-and-socket joint, one bone has a rounded end that fits into a cuplike cavity on another bone. This provides a wider range of movement. Thus, your hips and shoulders can swing in almost any direction. These are freely movable.

I like to move it, move it! Ball and socket joints: Make a fist with one of your hands, then take your other hand and cup it around the other fist. That is basically the concept of a ball and socket joint. A ball and socket joint allows the part that fits in to the joint to move freely. For example the upper arm fits into the shoulder blade, and the upper leg fits into the hip. You could swing either of those in a full circle.

Gliding joint The joints between the vertebrae are called gliding joints, where one part of a bone slides over another bone.

Types of other joints Saddle joint Pivot joint Suture joint Ankles and wrists Pivot joint neck Suture joint cranium

Saddle Joint With a saddle joint you do not have as much freedom as a ball and socket joint. The saddle joint allows your thumb to help pick up tiny objects such as needles or threads. There are saddle joints ankles and the wrists. The saddle joints in the ankle allow you to lean forward or backward, or stand on your tip toes.

Pivot joint The pivot joint is located at the top of the spinal column. The pivot joint allows your head to move side to side.

Suture joint- fixed joint When a baby is born there are gaps called fontanels in an infant's cranial bones. Instead of bone there is a white membrane protecting the brain. By the time the baby is 15 months through 2 years of age there are fibrous, zigzagging joints called sutures will have sealed the gaps in their skull. Suture joints are impossible to move.

Mechanisms of Joints Joint mobility makes it possible for our limbs to perform various movements