AFAA Group Fitness Instructor Practice Test 2026 – Complete Exam Prep

Gliding joints, or plane joints, allow only small sliding movements between flat or slightly curved surfaces, with no fixed axis of rotation. Between the carpal bones, the articular surfaces slide past one another to produce gentle gliding motions in various directions, but there isn’t a single, defined axis around which rotation occurs. That limited, non-axial movement is the hallmark of gliding joints. In contrast, hinge joints produce rolling or swinging motion around one fixed axis (like elbow flexion/extension), pivot joints rotate around a vertical axis, and ball-and-socket joints allow rotation in multiple directions around various axes.