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Discover the 3 planes of motion: sagittal, frontal, and transverse. Join our concise course and video lecture to enhance your understanding today!

Lesson 2: Planes of Motion

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I have almost completed my CPT certification and am half-way through the Human Movement certification to inform my massage practice. The different modalities of reading, watching audiovisual materials, and attending live or recorded webinars have been important to my learning style and for review.

Brookbush Institute has the most detailed, specific and effective tools for online learning for movement and/or bodywork professionals. I love the combination of the videos as well as the text available online.

I recently completed the CPT course. It was demanding yet practical. I would highly recommend it for anyone wanting an education about human movement.

I have my personal trainer certificate through here and am almost finished my human movement specialist certification. Overall, the education that Brookbush has packaged together for clinicians and trainers is invaluable. I am a physio assistant so coming from more of a rehab background I appreciate that this education has been beneficial both as a trainer and in a rehab setting. I love that I have been able to do all learning at my own pace and able to work around my schedule. Thank you for setting up this platform! Highly recommend :)

I have been a massage therapist for 10 yrs and I feel like all the “pieces” I’ve learned throughout the yrs have been put into place and can see the full picture. I am also a member to tons of great content since I love to learn! I plan to get my CPT through them as well.

I have been following Brent Brookbush for nearly a decade- back when I was a personal Trainer and now as a Physical Therapist. BBI is an incredible resource for any movement nerds and corrective exercise specialists! The information is thorough with multiple real world applications. I am looking forward to an in-person Manual Therapist course the second they do one a little bit closer to Virginia ;)

I have taken both the Human Movement Specialist and Certified Personal Trainer certificate programs and have found the value in understanding the how and ways the body moves and functions and from evidence, non-biased, outcome, conceptual, theoretical, and practical approach to helping my clients/patients look better, feel better, and move better.

Over the last years I've returned time and again to Brookbush Institute for stellar coursework as I've worked toward a Human Movement Specialist certification. (I'm currently ACE CPT, and in training with Anatomy Trains for Structural Integration Manual Therapy.) Every Brookbush Institute module is fantastic and each one includes detailed informational videos, written descriptions of how to-do, and, more importantly, why to-do!

I am a 70 yr old chiropractor and no other healthcare provider was able to come up with an exercise protocol particular to my structural and balances and muscle deficits and keep me in the game. And as for continuing education on human skeletal movement, the website is phenomenal full of great exercises for particular mechanical dysfunction.

The H.M.S. is the most valuable certificate I have earned and was a fraction of the the cost of my others. Define the best bang for your buck!

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Having courses count towards different certifications makes it so users can transition seamlessly from one certification to another. In my case, going from earning the BI CPT to earning the BI HMS was an easy decision and I am proud to have earned both certifications. I have also had the pleasure of going to a Live HMS workshop that was well taught by Instructor Boettcher and that was excellent to see how the methods and techniques are implemented.



I have been a member of BBI for years and every course I have taken has been incredibly informative. I learn more from these courses than I do at local CEU courses for my PTA license. I also earned my CPT and HMS certifications through the platform. It was so convenient and the content was top notch! Forever member.

We learn principles in academia, we learn cool new modalities via whatever specialty certification, but BBI really concentrates on the nuances of passive treatment and they do a fantastic job. The format in which BBI instructs soft tissue specialists (DPTs, Chiros, ATs) like myself feels like almost like an apprenticeship. You get a thoroughly detailed explanation of the “why’s”, and a visual comprehension of how to apply. Personally, I believe application is where the good and the great are distinguished.

Brookbush has been incredibly helpful since I was in massage school and now as I’m in my career! I run my own practice and it gives me the resources I need to not only improve what I already know, but also help me navigate better, more efficient ways of treatment.

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The sagittal plane divides the body into left and right halves and refers to a motion that is forward, backward, up, and down, such as a 

The frontal plane divides the body into front (anterior) and back (posterior) halves and refers to motion that is side to side and up and down, such as a jumping jack, 

 The transverse plane divides the body into top and bottom halves and refers to motion in which the arms or legs start parallel to the horizon and come together (horizontal adduction) or spread apart (horizontal abduction) or when joints rotate or pivot. Examples include 

This course also covers the "scapular plane," but it is not included on the exam.

Continuing Education and Certification Approved Final Exam


This course explains the three planes of motion and how they apply to exercise analysis. A plane of motion is a two-dimensional surface with a defined direction. The three anatomical planes of motion are analogous to the cardinal planes and correspond to movement around the axes of the body. The three planes include the sagittal plane, frontal plane (coronal plane), and transverse plane (horizontal plane). 

Exercise can be categorized by plane of motion by observing the joint action occurring during the exercise and the plane of motion that joint action occurs parallel to. Consideration of the planes of motion can aid in exercise programming by ensuring that exercises are selected that challenge the body to move and stabilize forces in all 3 planes. For example, most exercises are sagittal plane motions (like a squat), but an activity like getting out of a car requires multiplanar strength. This implies that a program that includes squats may also consider adding lateral movements like lateral lunges (frontal plane) and transverse plane movements like turning step-ups (transverse plane).

Sports medicine professionals (personal trainers, fitness instructors, physical therapists, athletic trainers, massage therapists, chiropractors, occupational therapists, etc.) will use the planes of motion to aid in the analysis of movement and the creation of sophisticated exercise programs and intervention plans. Further, the planes of motion are essential for future lessons on joint actions; for example, sagittal plane joint actions include flexion and extension, frontal plane joint actions include adduction and abduction, and transverse plane joint actions include internal and external rotation.

The planes of motion split up into the sagittal, coronal (frontal), and transverse sections

Course Summary: Planes of Motion

Lesson 2: Planes of Motion Study Guide

Course Study Guide: Planes of Motion 

In this video, we define the 3 anatomical planes of motion: sagittal plane, frontal plane, and transverse plane. These planes are also known as cardinal planes and referred to as the sagittal plane, coronal plane, and horizontal planes. This course includes anatomical position, examples of exercises in each plane, and how to modify an exercise into another plane (altering the demands on muscles and joints). This is foundational knowledge for all movement professionals, personal trainers, physical therapists, athletic trainers, massage therapists, chiropractors, occupational therapists, etc.

Course Video Lesson: Planes of Motion

Sagittal plane bisecting the body into right and left halves

Sagittal Plane Activity

The sagittal plane splits the body into right and left halves. Sagittal plane joint actions include flexion and extension (forward, backward, up, and down movements)

About the Sagittal Plane

Sagittal Plane

Frontal plane bisecting the body into front and back halves

Frontal Plane Activity

The frontal plane splits the body into front and back halves. Frontal plane joint actions include adduction and abduction (lateral movement)

About the Frontal Plane (Synonym - Coronal Plane)

Frontal Plane (Synonym - Coronal Plane)

Transverse plane bisecting the body into top and bottom halves

Transverse Plane Activity

About the Transverse Plane

Transverse Plane

The scapular plane is the plane of the scapula. It is medially rotated approximately 30-40 degrees from the frontal plane (between the frontal and sagittal planes). The scapula's medially rotated position is due to the elliptical shape of the rib cage.

 Scapular plane motion refers to the motion of a bone and joint in the scapular plane. It is most often only referenced during upper extremity motion and motion of the shoulder joint.

Why should you lift in the scapular plane?

 Shoulder joint motions in the scapular plane may reduce the impingement of tissues between the greater tubercle of the humerus and the acromion shelf. Theoretically, this may reduce the development of or the exacerbation of shoulder impingement syndrome (SIS) symptoms.  

 Movements are categorized by plane based on the movement of bones and joints, not external load. For example, a 

 can be done in the scapular plane; however, this would require that the shoulder joint moves through flexion or extension (abduction or adduction) in the plane of the scapula. Although a shoulder press and pull-up are conventionally performed in the frontal plane, it is the joint motion that dictates the plane of motion and not the name of the exercise. 

 The most common reference to the scapular plane is for a shoulder exercise commonly performed in a physical rehabilitation setting called "

." Scaption is "flexion" in the scapular plane and could be described as a motion between a "front raise" and a "lateral raise."


Examples of exercises that are commonly performed in the scapular plane

Scapular Plane

Note there are dozens of exercises that could be added to the graph below. This is just a sample set of correct answers. If you have a question about a particular exercise please feel free to ask in the comments box below.

Planes of Motion Answer Key: Which exercises correspond to each plane?

Before you click on the hyperlinks, try to visualize how the exercises in 

 (same video as above - both planes taught in the same video)

 (The same video progresses through all 3 planes)

Activity: Progressing Exercises Through Multiple Planes

Carolyn Richardson, Paul Hodges, Julie Hides. Therapeutic Exercise for Lumbo Pelvic Stabilization – A Motor Control Approach for the Treatment and Prevention of Low Back Pain: 2nd Edition (c) Elsevier Limited, 2004

John V. Basmajian, Carlo J. De Luca. Muscles Alive: Their Function Revealed by ElectroMyography. 1985

Bibliography

Questions, comments, and criticisms are welcomed and encouraged

Lesson 2: Planes of Motion

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