Ch. 3.2: The Frontal Plane

The Frontal plane runs from side to side and divides the body into front and back sides. The motions in this plane, and around its axis, are abduction and adduction.

Written by

Willem Kramer

Published on

June 26, 2025

The frontal plane, also known as the coronal plane, runs side to side and splits the body into a front and a back. Its axis runs front to back and is called the sagittal axis.

Motions in this plane and around its axis are often, but not always, labelled as abduction and adduction

The motions of the frontal plane include:
  • Eversion and inversion of the ankle.
  • Superior and inferior glide of the pubic symphysis.
  • Superior and inferior glide of the sacroiliac.
  • Lateral flexion of the vertebral column.
  • Elevation and depression of the ribs (bucket-handle motion).
  • Elevation and depression of the shoulder girdle and the clavicle in particular.
  • Upward and downward rotation of the shoulder girdle and the scapula in particular.

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Author

Willem Kramer is a Netherlands-trained physiotherapist and US-licensed massage therapist with over thirty years of experience working with professional athletes, entertainers, and executives worldwide. He reorganizes anatomy around how the body moves, working from the premise that motion is a whole-body event involving all twelve organ systems within the anatomical planes of motion. He is the author of Anatomy by Planes — a three-atlas set with a foreword by Andrew Luck — and its companion Clinical & Training Guide, and the creator of Motion Anatomy (motionanatomy.com), a free introduction to the framework.

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