A movement pattern is a characteristic and repeatable sequence of body segment movements, muscle activations, and joint actions that accomplishes a specific motor task. Movement patterns represent the nervous system's solution to the problem of coordinating multiple body parts to achieve a goal efficiently and effectively.
Key Characteristics of Movement Patterns
Coordination
- Multiple joints and segments working together
- Temporal sequencing (timing of activation)
- Spatial relationships (relative positions)
- Synergistic muscle activation
Repeatability
- Consistency across repetitions
- Recognizable despite minor variations
- Defines an individual's "signature" movement style
- Stable but adaptable to context
Goal-Directed
- Organized to accomplish specific task
- Efficient for given constraints
- Adaptable to environmental demands
- Can be optimized for performance or economy
Hierarchical Organization
- Global pattern (whole-body coordination)
- Regional coordination (limb or segment)
- Local control (individual joints)
- Muscle synergies (groups of muscles activated together)
Categories of Movement Patterns
Fundamental Movement Patterns
Basic patterns underlying many activities:
- Squat Pattern: Hip and knee flexion with trunk control
- Hinge Pattern: Hip-dominant flexion with neutral spine
- Lunge Pattern: Split-stance lower body movement
- Push Pattern: Upper body pressing movements
- Pull Pattern: Upper body pulling movements
- Rotation Pattern: Twisting movements through trunk and hips
- Gait Pattern: Cyclical walking and running movements
Sport-Specific Patterns
Specialized coordination for specific sports:
- Pitching mechanics in baseball
- Tennis serve sequence
- Golf swing pattern
- Basketball shooting form
- Soccer kicking pattern
- Swimming stroke patterns
Functional Patterns
Daily life movement sequences:
- Sit-to-stand pattern
- Reaching and grasping
- Lifting and carrying
- Stair climbing
- Getting up from floor
Developmental Patterns
Movement progressions through maturation:
- Rolling
- Crawling
- Standing
- Walking
- Running
- Jumping
Characteristics of Optimal Movement Patterns
Efficiency
- Minimal energy expenditure for task
- Smooth, coordinated sequences
- Appropriate muscle activation (not excessive co-contraction)
- Proper force distribution across joints
Effectiveness
- Successfully accomplishes task goal
- Consistent performance across repetitions
- Adaptable to varying conditions
- Appropriate speed and power production
Safety
- Distributes loads appropriately
- Maintains joint integrity
- Avoids excessive stress concentrations
- Includes appropriate stability and control
Variability
- Some trial-to-trial variation is healthy
- Allows adaptation to perturbations
- Excessive rigidity or excessive variability both problematic
- "Optimal" variability range exists
Movement Pattern Dysfunctions
Compensation Patterns
Alterations due to:
- Pain or injury
- Weakness or strength imbalances
- Restricted range of motion
- Neurological impairment
- Poor motor learning
Examples:
- Knee valgus during squatting (often from weak hip abductors)
- Excessive spinal flexion in deadlift (often from tight hamstrings or weak extensors)
- Hip hiking in gait (compensating for weak hip flexors or limited knee flexion)
Inefficient Patterns
- Excessive movement (wasted motion)
- Poor timing or sequencing
- Inadequate power transfer through kinetic chain
- Unnecessary muscle co-contraction
High-Risk Patterns
Movements associated with injury:
- Dynamic knee valgus in landing (ACL injury risk)
- Excessive lumbar flexion under load (back injury risk)
- Overhead throwing with poor scapular control (shoulder injury risk)
Analyzing Movement Patterns
Observational Analysis
Systematic observation checklist:
- Starting position
- Initiation and sequencing
- Joint positions and angles throughout
- Timing and rhythm
- Compensations or deviations
- Symmetry (left vs. right)
- Consistency across repetitions
Video Analysis
Enhanced pattern recognition:
- Slow motion reveals timing details
- Frame-by-frame for specific positions
- Overlay comparisons highlight deviations
- Measurement of angles and positions
- Documentation of progress
Screening Tools
Standardized assessments:
- Functional Movement Screen (FMS)
- Y-Balance Test
- Movement Competency Screens
- Sport-specific movement assessments
3D Motion Analysis
Research-grade assessment:
- Precise joint angle measurements
- Kinetic chain sequencing analysis
- Force and power quantification
- Detailed segment coordination
Modifying Movement Patterns
Motor Learning Principles
Awareness
- Video feedback to see current pattern
- Verbal cueing to understand desired changes
- Manual guidance to feel correct pattern
- Comparison to model or target pattern
Practice
- Repetition with focus on key elements
- Blocked practice for learning new pattern
- Variable practice for pattern flexibility
- Progressive difficulty and speed
Feedback
- Knowledge of results (outcome achieved)
- Knowledge of performance (quality of pattern)
- Immediate vs. delayed feedback (context-dependent)
- External focus generally more effective
Transfer
- Practice in relevant contexts
- Gradual progression from simple to complex
- Include variability and unpredictability
- Apply in sport or functional situation
Common Intervention Approaches
Corrective Exercise
- Address underlying mobility limitations
- Strengthen weak links in chain
- Improve stability and control
- Practice correct pattern at low intensity
Cueing Strategies
- Internal cues ("squeeze your glutes")
- External cues ("push the floor away")
- Verbal, visual, or tactile cues
- Minimal cues to avoid overthinking
Constraints-Based Approach
- Manipulate task, environment, or individual constraints
- Guide emergence of desired pattern
- E.g., narrow stance to encourage knee tracking
Regression and Progression
- Simplify movement if pattern breaks down
- Gradually increase difficulty as pattern improves
- Modify speed, load, stability, or complexity
Clinical and Performance Significance
Injury Prevention
- Screen for high-risk patterns
- Correct dysfunctional patterns before injury occurs
- Address asymmetries and compensations
- Build robust, adaptable movement patterns
Rehabilitation
- Restore normal movement patterns after injury
- Prevent compensatory patterns from becoming permanent
- Gradual return to pre-injury movement quality
- Monitor pattern quality, not just performance metrics
Performance Enhancement
- Refine efficient patterns for economy
- Optimize power transfer through kinetic chain
- Develop sport-specific pattern mastery
- Maintain pattern quality under fatigue
Lifespan Considerations
- Build fundamental patterns in youth
- Maintain pattern quality throughout adult years
- Adapt patterns as physical capacity changes with aging
- Preserve functional movement for independent living
Understanding movement patterns—how they develop, what characterizes quality patterns, how they become dysfunctional, and how to improve them—is fundamental to sports performance, injury prevention, and rehabilitation. Video analysis provides a powerful tool for observing, measuring, and modifying movement patterns in clinical, coaching, and research settings.