Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Biomechanics of Petting my Cats!


Everyday, multiple times a day I pet my two cats, Millicent and Mortimer!  I consider my cats my babies and they love/demand attention! To pet my cats, I start by flexing my knees and hips, squatting down to get on their level. I then reach out my arm towards Morty and Millie (they are almost always together and most likely right under my feet), this involves extending my arm and then flexing my shoulder. After my arm is extended, I then pronate my arm so that my palm is facing down, to make contact with the cats. Finally, I flex and extend my wrist to create the petting motion. Flexion and Extension occur in the sagittal plane about the frontal axis of rotation, while pronation occurs in the transverse plane about the vertical axis. The osteokinematics of the elbow are flexion to extension in an open kinematic chain. The prime movers for elbow extension are the Triceps Brachii which shortens, performing a concentric contraction. The arthrokinematics of elbow extension are the radial head and proximal ulna gliding along the distal humerus posteriorly.

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