The contractile field—A new model of human movement

SummaryA new model, the contractile field (CF), conceptually informed by the embryology and evolutionary biomechanics of vertebrate movement patterns, describes fields of interacting contractility. Contractile fields are whole organism in scope and model core mammalian movement patterns such as flexing/extending, lateral flexing, twisting left/right, squeezing, pulsating, and peristaltic movements. They are fields of contractility that textile-like, form a warp and weft. Each contractile field is modelled as embedding a primary sense organ.An assessment methodology called ‘Archetypal Postures’ is introduced.