The muscles and joints of the legs provide strength and stability for the body. These muscles serve to transmit the weight of the body and provide power for such common activities as walking, running, and jumping. They also absorb the cumulative impact of those activities. The leg bones are girded on all sides by sets of powerful muscles that allow the legs to bend (flexion) and straighten (extension) as well as move outward from the body (abduction) and inward (adduction). Some of these muscles are relatively long and participate in more than one type of movement.
