Understanding the three types of levers in the body

Today’s blog will help you understand the three types of levers, which is a key part of your level 3 anatomy and physiology exam.  Further still, knowing these levers will help guide your planning and programming towards specific goals your clients have.

Check out the short poem below and the diagram showing the three types of levers and where they show up in the body. Make sure to drop any questions below in the comments box as well! 🙂 

First up, all levers fall into one of three types of lever.

I know what you’re thinking. – “How can we tell which lever is in which class?“

The main difference is what order the different parts come in.

Every lever has three parts to every lever:

1. the effort,

2. the fulcrum,

3. the load.

The position of these three parts varies in all three levers.

Yes… there are 3 types of levers and each lever has 3 parts!

Use the following poem to remember the 3 types of levers and where each part is!

and use this in your brain dump [the first minute of your exam] to write down and recall this tricky topic!

Now take 2 minutes to read through the “ins & outs” to the 3 types of levers!

Class 1 Levers:

THERE WAS AN ELF CALLED EFL 

A Class 1 lever has the fulcrum placed between the effort and load. The movement of the load is in the opposite direction of the movement of the effort. This is the most common lever configuration. The effort in a class 1 lever is in one direction, and the load moves in the opposite direction. Note that the length of the effort arm can be greater than, equal to or less than the length of the load arm in a class 1 lever. Picture a classic see-saw and you have yourself a class 1 lever!

Class 2 Levers:

WHO WAS A CLUMSY LITTLE ELF 

A Class 2 lever has the load between the effort and the fulcrum. In this type of lever, the movement of the load is in the opposite direction as that of the effort. Note that the length of the effort arm goes all the way to the fulcrum and is always greater than the length of the load arm in a class 2 lever. Picture a wheel-barrow and you have yourself a class 2 lever!

Class 3 Levers:

HIS HEAD WAS SO BIG HE FEL OVER HIS FEET! 

A Class 3 lever has the effort between the load and the fulcrum. Both the effort and load are in the same direction. Note that the length of the load arm goes all the way to the fulcrum and is always greater than the length of the effort arm in a Class 3 lever. Picture a fishing rod and you have yourself a class 3 lever!

Below is an example of each lever in the body

There are three types or classes of levers, according to where the load and effort are located with respect to the fulcrum.

• Class 1 has the fulcrum placed between the effort and loads EFL
• Class 2 has the load in between the effort and the fulcrum ELF
• Class 3 has the effort between the load and the fulcrum. FEL