So how exactly do our muscles, bones and joints allow us to do all of these things? And why does our body sometimes let us down? What makes some joints more likely to get dislocated than others? What does it mean when you tear a cartilage in your knee?

By using the animated simulations and medical images you can take a look beneath the skin and see our own joints and muscles in action.

Launch it ... Find out how the human skeleton works for yourself using the Joints Explorer.
Did You Know ... ?

This area is based on Casing the Joint, a lecture given by Dr Susie Whiten at the Ri.

Flexible Moves

There are many different types of joint in the human body, and some are more flexible than others. The joints in our arms, legs, shoulders and hips allow us to move freely, and can produce some pretty amazing achievements.

Launch it ... Find out Who’s the Fastest? and see just how freely the shoulder joint can move.

If we didn’t have any joints we wouldn’t be able to move around very well at all. Have a go at keeping your arms and legs straight whilst trying to walk… it’s not easy to do.

But what is it that restricts the movement of these joints? What stops us from bending our joints to, fro and all over the place? Perhaps a good place to find the answer is by looking at some extremely flexible people…

People who perform acrobatics, gymnastics or Yoga often perform acts that might seem extreme to others. A man called Houdini was famous for his great escapes and these involved a great deal of flexibility and dexterity.

Launch it ... Have a look at these Bendy Bodies… how about turning your limbs completely back to front, or folding yourself up into a small box?
Discuss it ... Can you touch your toes? If you can’t, what do you think it is that is stopping you from moving further?

Am I double jointed? ÔDouble jointedÕ doesnÕt mean quite what it says. Rather than having double joints, it means having unusually flexible joints that can bend in unusual ways or to an abnormally great extent.

Did You Know ... ?
Launch it ... COMING SOON: See exactly how the human skeleton moves and practice your football skills in Target Tactics.

The joint capsule holds the joint together, along with an array of ligaments and muscles that actually restrict our movement. So, if you train for a long time you can stretch your muscles further so that you can become more flexible. All in all, the human structure has developed so that is has become a highly efficient moving machine, but within certain limits.

For more information about flexible people, visit:
http://www.contortionhomepage.com
http://www.yogasite.com
http://www.uelectric.com/houdini/contents.html
http://www.sportsite.com.ar/ica.html

Teachers' Notes ... For Teachers' Notes on this subject, click here