Dance Anatomy & Kinesiology

172 Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology

thigh muscles is much larger than the hip abductors or than might be expected given their relation-

ship to gravity in upright stance. One commonly cited explanation for this apparent discrepancy is that

each medial muscle has secondary actions, which allow it to contribute widely in activities that do not

necessarily involve adduction of the hip. Due to the difficulty in distinguishing individual muscles and

the tendency for these muscles to work together in functional movements, palpation will be described

for the medial muscles as a group at the end of this section.

Attachments and Primary Actions of Adductor Longus, Brevis, and Magnus

Muscle Proximal attachment(s) Distal attachment(s) Primary action(s)

Adductor longus

(ah-DUK-tor LON-gus)

Anterior surface of pubis

at crest

Middle third of linea aspera of

femur

Hip adduction

Hip flexion (lower ranges)

Adductor brevis

(ah-DUK-tor BRE-vis)

Inferior ramus of pubis Superior portion of linea

aspera and distal portion of

line between lesser trochanter

and linea aspera of femur

Hip adduction

Hip flexion (lower ranges)

Adductor magnus

(ah-DUK-tor MAG-nus)

Inferior rami of pubis

and ischium, ischial

tuberosity

Linea aspera of femur Hip adduction

Hip extension (lower fibers)

Adductor Longus, Brevis, and Magnus

The adductor longus (adduct, move toward midline

+ L. longus, long) is the most superficial of these

three muscles and runs downward from the pubis

to the linea aspera along the middle portion of the

shaft of the femur as seen in figure 4.11. The adduc-

tor brevis (adduct, move toward midline + L. brevis,

short) is a smaller, deeper muscle that is located

above and behind the longus. The adductor magnus

(adduct, move toward midline + L. magnus, large), as

its name implies, is one of the largest muscles in the

body, and both its proximal and distal attachments

are extensive. Its proximal attachment spans from

the front of the pubis to the ischial tuberosity, and

its distal attachment spans the length of the shaft

of the femur from just below the lesser trochanter

to just above the medial epicondyle. The adductor

magnus is the deepest of the adductor muscles.

In addition to their action in hip adduction, the

medial hip muscles can also play a role in hip flexion

and extension. In anatomical position, the adductor

longus, brevis, and upper fibers of the magnus lie

anterior to the axis for flexion-extension of the hip

and so can produce hip flexion. In contrast, the line

of pull of the lower fibers of the adductor magnus

lies posterior and so can produce hip extension.

However, during flexion of the hip, the line of action

of these muscles relative to this axis changes. Thus,

as flexion proceeds, they become less effective as

hip flexors, and between approximately 50° and

70° they become hip extensors (Smith, Weiss, and

Lehmkuhl, 1996). There is still much controversy regarding the potential contribution of the hip adduc-

tors to rotation, and further research will be required to clarify this issue.

FIGURE 4.11 The adductor longus, adductor brevis,

and adductor magnus (right hip, anterior view).