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Chapter 3: A Life Span Approach to the Systems That Produce Human Movement

INTRODUCTION

An illustration of the vestibular systems with their key elements. The brain at the front shows the cortex and the cerebellum. The upward arrow line shows the ascending and moves through the postural muscles and vestibular nucleus to reach the cortex. The downward arrow line shows the descending as the reverse order. The diagrammatic representation of the human avatar runs with a rugby ball in her hand. An inset shows the magnified view of the ear. The bent tubular structure shows the semicircular canal. The curved tube with a bulb-like structure below the canal shows the ampulla. The spherical-shaped structures above the coiled structure show the utricle and saccule. The coiled structure at the bottom shows the cochlea.
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It does not yet appear what ye shall be—New Testament Life offers us each the opportunity to develop and change constantly as each individual continually and uniquely unfolds.

Cornerstone Concepts

  • The relationship among theoretical assumptions, practice models, and intervention concepts

  • A description of the evolution of the dynamic systems approach to understanding human movement

  • Application of a systems approach to movement science and neurorehabilitation

  • A functional anatomical overview of the nervous system, somatosensory system, visual system, vestibular system, and motor system

  • The life span view of development

  • Developmental changes of the nervous system, somatosensory system, visual system, vestibular system, and motor system

In Chapters 1 and 2, some basic information was presented to orient the student or clinician to the applied field of neurorehabilitation. This chapter is a cornerstone chapter in that it moves forward from the basic neuroanatomy and neurophysiology and presents the information within a functional framework. This chapter presents human movement as a system made up of several subsystems that develop, mature, and age over the life of the individual. Movement is a product of the contributions of many systems, working together within their own maturational level, to produce movement tailored for that particular individual, at that particular time, within that unique environment, to perform a specific task.

This chapter not only presents a functional, dynamic systems approach to the study of human movement production but will frame it within an ever-evolving process of life span development. Picture the following: an infant drinking from a baby bottle, a child drinking from a cup, a teen drinking from a sports bottle, a 30 year old downing a cold can of soda, an executive drinking coffee from a travel mug, and a grandmother sipping tea from a porcelain cup. Picture further that the infant is being cradled by a caring mother, the child is sitting stabilized in a high chair, the teen is balanced precariously on the edge of the team bench, the 30 year old is standing at the helm of a fast-moving fishing boat, the executive is seated comfortably in an office chair, and the grandmother is lying in bed propped by pillows. Continue imagining just a moment further: The infant is full term and healthy, the child has cerebral palsy and is sitting in an adapted highchair, the teen has juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, the 30 year old is in excellent physical health, the executive is visually impaired, and the grandmother has just suffered a stroke requiring her to drink the tea with her unimpaired but nondominant hand.

There is no disputing the fact that all these individuals are engaged in the task of drinking. However, we all know that the described task of drinking is very different in each circumstance. Each individual presents within a specific ...

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