Adduction and abduction are movements of a joint in the frontal plane. Adduction involves pulling limbs towards the midline of the body, while abduction involves lifting limbs away from the midline. These movements are initiated by different muscle groups and occur in synovial joints, including ball and socket, condyloid, and saddle joints.
Adduction and abduction are anatomical terms of movement related to the possible movements of a joint. Using the hip joint as an example, adduction is the act of drawing the leg out to the side toward the midline of the body, while abduction is the act of lifting the leg out to the side of the body. Both movements occur in a single plane of motion known as the frontal plane, and the joints that perform these movements include the hip and those in the shoulder, wrist, and the bases of the fingers and thumb. Adduction and abduction are initiated by multiple muscles at each joint, with one muscle or muscle group adducting the joint and an opposite muscle or muscle group abducting the joint.
Always performed in the frontal plane in a side-to-side direction, these movements occur relative to the anatomical position. The body is said to be in anatomical position when standing with feet together, arms at your sides, and palms facing forward. This position is used as a reference point when describing movements.
Adduction involves pulling the limbs or limbs in from an elevated position toward the vertical midline of the body, while abduction involves lifting the same parts on both sides. From the anatomical position, adduction includes the actions of drawing the arms to the sides, tilting the pink side of the hand to the same side as the forearm, and bringing the legs together laterally, among others. Abduction includes the opposite movements: raising the arms to the sides of the body, tilting the thumb side of the hand toward the same side of the forearm, and spreading the legs apart.
Three types of synovial or mobile joints can produce adduction and abduction movements by articulating in opposite directions: condyloid, saddle, and patella joints. Condyloid joints have adjacent bones that are elliptical in shape. The wrist joint is an example of a condyloid joint.
Saddle joints, such as the one seen in the carpometacarpal joint at the base of the thumb, are similar to condyloid joints, but feature two saddle-shaped bony surfaces that curve around each other. The hip and shoulder are ball and socket joints, which allow movement in almost all directions. All three types of joint allow adduction and abduction in addition to movements of flexion and extension from front to back and a circular movement known as circumduction.
Another distinction between adduction and abduction is the muscles that perform these actions. In any joint, a muscle or set of muscles performs a given movement while the opposite movement is performed by another muscle or set of muscles. Hip adduction, for example, is initiated by five muscles that run along the inner thigh and are collectively known as the adductor group. The opposite movement of abduction is made possible by another group of muscles on the back and side of the hip; These include the gluteal muscles and several deeper muscles in the posterior hip.
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