What does flexion do?

What does flexion do?

• A. Increasing the angle of the joint
• B. Rotating around the joint
• C. Reducing the angle of the joint
• D. Stabilizing the joint

Answer: (C)

Flexion is bending a joint, which decreases the angle between the two limb segments. When you bend the elbow or knee, the angle between the bones gets smaller. In anatomical terms, flexion reduces the joint angle. By contrast, extending a joint increases that angle, rotating around the joint is a different motion, and stabilizing the joint refers to maintaining position rather than changing the angle. So, flexion equals reducing the angle of the joint.

Flexion is bending a joint, which decreases the angle between the two limb segments. When you bend the elbow or knee, the angle between the bones gets smaller. In anatomical terms, flexion reduces the joint angle. By contrast, extending a joint increases that angle, rotating around the joint is a different motion, and stabilizing the joint refers to maintaining position rather than changing the angle. So, flexion equals reducing the angle of the joint.