Joints Used in the Straight Punch In the motion of a punch, most of the upper body joints are used. First, the hinge joint at the elbow and the ball-and-socket joint at the shoulder flex. This means that the arm bends toward the body. The condyloid joints of the phalanges and metacarpals also flex, balling the hand into a fist (Shier 2007). To avoid injury, keep your thumb on the outside. As you proceed with the punch, the pivot joints in your vertebral column rotate the upper body to the left. The elbow and shoulder extend the arm forward. This is possible because of the elbow’s hinge joint and the shoulder’s ball-and-socket joint (Shier 2007). This is where the power in the punch comes from. As the arm extends, the gliding joint in the wrist …show more content…
The iliocostalis lumborum, longissimus thoracis, and spinalis thoracis contract on the punching side and stretch on the opposite side to return the spinal column and waist back to the resting position (Shier, 2007). The rectus abdominis stretches to return the trunk back to the correct position (Shier, 2007). The transversus abdominis, the internal obliques, and the external obliques, on the side of the punch, stretch to return to the starting point while the external obliques on the opposing side contract to straighten out the waist (“Core Muscle…”, 2015). The The teres minor adducts the shoulder (Delgado, 2013). The rhomboid major and minor adduct and rotate the scapula down (Delgado, 2013). The coracobrachialis and the pectoralis major flexes and adducts the shoulder (Delgado, 2013). The biceps brachii flexes the arm at the arm at the shoulder and the forearm at the elbow (Delgado, 2013). The brachialis and brachioradialis also flex the forearm at the elbow (Delgado, 2013). The supinator turns the forearm and hand back over to anatomical position with the palms facing anteriorly (Shier, 2007). The origin of the supinator is the the crest of the ulna and the lateral epicondyle of the humerus and the insertion is the lateral surface of the radius (Shier, 2007). The extensor carpi ulnaris, extensor carpi radialis longus and brevis, and extensor digitorum extend the hand, unclenching the fist (Shier, 2007). The extensor carpi radialis longus originates at the distal end of the humerus and inserts at the base of the second metacarpal (Shier, 2007). The origin of the extensor carpi radialis brevis is at the lateral epicondyle of the humerus (Shier, 2007). The insertion is at the proximal end of the third and second metacarpals (Shier, 2007). The origin of the extensor carpi ulnaris is at the external side of the epicondyle humerus and its insertion is at the proximal