Importance of knowing Bones and Muscle insertions/origins for PT

[Fyrra]

Im trying to understand the importance of knowing major bones and muscle attachments for a personal trainer.

as in how could a personal trainer apply that knowledge to the work out.


I apologize if the question is too simple or obvious but for whatever reason i can't seem to find the right answer.


Thank you ! =)

[CLB454]

Knowing the origin and insertions of a muscle will help you better understand the way a muscle should move which in turn will help you pick the proper exercise for a given muscle.

[KyleAaron]

Muscles move joints. Moving joints make up an exercise. By understanding how the muscles are working on the joints, you can better understand how the person is moving in the exercise and should be. For example, someone does a bridge and says she doesn't feel it in her glutes, but does feel it in her hamstrings. She has an increased lordotic curve in her lumbar spine. What might be happening, and what cues can you give to engage the glutes more in the bridge?

[Arabianmuscles]

Muscles move joints. Moving joints make up an exercise. By understanding how the muscles are working on the joints, you can better understand how the person is moving in the exercise and should be. For example, someone does a bridge and says she doesn't feel it in her glutes, but does feel it in her hamstrings. She has an increased lordotic curve in her lumbar spine. What might be happening, and what cues can you give to engage the glutes more in the bridge?

This.

[SFT]

The ankle is also an interesting joint. For example, without knowledge of origins/insertions, you might not understand why ROM and strength of plantar flexion can vary when the knee is bent versus straight. Knowing that the gastrocnemius crosses the knee and that the soleus does not, you can better explain this.

With this knowledge you can explain things such as active insufficiency and passive insufficiency in which muscles that cross two joints have an ability to exert as much force, or as much range of motion, when they are being either shortened or lengthened across those two joints simultaneously.

In Kyle's example, you can fix this problem and "wake up" the glutes before you run into problems such as synergistic dominance, in which the hamstrings have to pick up the extra load because the glutes aren't working properly. By fixing the position of the pelvis, you are more likely to get the activation of the glutes. Synergistic dominance of the hamstrings can be particularly troublesome to athletes who perform hip extension at the extremes of ROM and limb velocity.

The more you know the better. For example, I'm currently trying to do a self-study in pharmacology. For some people, this is overkill and useless information. With my interest in older and sicker populations, it could prove to be quite useful and distinguish myself from others who are trying to form relationships with medical professionals.

One more thing to remember with the muscle origin, insertions, and actions. You don't need to know the exact name for every origin or insertion point to conceptualize things. Knowing them doesn't hurt. However, take for example the deltoid. If you know that this muscle is responsible for shoulder abduction, you can figure out that the origin must be somewhere on the scapula. If it moves the humerus, the insertion must be somewhere on the humerus. This works in reverse too, if you have an idea about the origin and insertion, you can probably figure out the action.