HSC Health and Movement Science key terms

A resource for everyday living that combines physical, mental, social and spiritual dimensions, shaped by heredity, environment, lifestyle and access to services rather than merely the absence of disease.

The interacting personal, social, economic and environmental factors that influence a person's or community's health status, commonly grouped as individual, sociocultural, socioeconomic and environmental factors.

A model that places health on a moving scale from optimal wellbeing through to illness or premature death, showing that a person's position changes over time and circumstance.

Fair distribution of resources and opportunities so that groups with greater need receive proportionally more support, recognising that equal treatment does not produce equal health outcomes.

The capacity to obtain, interpret and apply health information to make informed decisions and act on them, including navigating services and evaluating risk messages.

Planned action that enables people to increase control over and improve their health, typically combining health education with supportive environments, policy change and community participation.

Five strategies for health promotion: building healthy public policy, creating supportive environments, strengthening community action, developing personal skills and reorienting health services.

Measures taken to avoid illness or injury before it occurs, or to detect and manage it early, classified as primary, secondary and tertiary prevention.

Testing apparently healthy people to identify those at risk of a condition so it can be managed earlier, such as bowel or cervical screening programs.

A measure of the gap between a population's actual health and an ideal where everyone lives free of illness, expressed in years of healthy life lost.

The study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states in populations, used to identify patterns, risk factors and priorities for intervention.

The proportion of a population that has a particular condition at a given point or period of time, regardless of when it developed.

The number of new cases of a condition arising in a defined population over a specified period, indicating how quickly it is occurring.

The consistent pattern whereby people with lower socioeconomic position experience progressively poorer health and shorter life expectancy than those above them.

The capacity to adapt and recover when faced with adversity, stress or change, supported by personal skills and social connections.

Practical, emotional and informational assistance available through family, friends, peers and community networks, which buffers stress and encourages healthy behaviour.

A sense of belonging and positive relationships with people, groups and institutions, associated with better mental health and lower risk-taking behaviour.

The standard reference stance with the body upright, feet together, palms facing forward and thumbs lateral, from which all directional terms are described.

Imaginary flat surfaces used to describe body movement and section: sagittal (left and right), frontal (front and back) and transverse (upper and lower).

The line about which a body segment turns; paired with each plane so that sagittal movement occurs about a transverse axis, and so on.

The junction between two or more bones, classified by structure and by the range of movement permitted, from immovable fibrous joints to freely movable synovial joints.

The muscle primarily responsible for producing a given movement, contracting to create the required joint action while other muscles assist or control it.

The muscle that opposes the agonist, relaxing and lengthening to allow the movement to occur and helping to control its speed.

Tension generated within a muscle, described as isotonic when the muscle changes length or isometric when length stays constant while force is produced.

A single motor neuron together with all the muscle fibres it stimulates; recruiting more units, or larger ones, increases the force of contraction.

Distinct muscle cell varieties: slow-twitch fibres suit endurance work, while fast-twitch fibres produce rapid, powerful contractions but fatigue quickly.

A rigid bone rotated about a fulcrum by an applied force, classified into three classes according to the relative positions of fulcrum, load and effort.

The application of mechanical principles such as force, torque, velocity and stability to the study of human movement and the forces acting on the body.

The point at which the body's total weight is considered to act; lowering it and widening the base of support generally increases stability.

The ability to maintain the body's centre of gravity over its base of support, either statically or while moving, using visual, vestibular and proprioceptive information.

Sensory feedback from receptors in muscles, tendons and joints that informs the brain about body position and movement, enabling coordinated correction.

The maximum rate at which the body can take up and use oxygen during sustained exercise, reflecting the combined efficiency of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

A guideline for designing effective exercise programs, including overload, specificity, progression, reversibility and individuality.

The period of rest and adaptation after training during which tissues repair and performance capacity is restored or improved, reducing injury and overtraining risk.

Any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure, encompassing work, transport, household tasks, play and structured exercise.

Time spent sitting or lying while awake with very low energy expenditure, such as screen use or desk work, which carries health risks largely independent of exercise habits.

A framework explaining behaviour as shaped by nested levels of influence: individual, interpersonal, organisational, community and public policy.

The human-made surroundings including streets, parks, transport and buildings, whose design can encourage or discourage walking, cycling and active recreation.

Travel such as walking, cycling or using public transport that incorporates physical activity into daily journeys instead of relying on a private car.