Now we are going to show you each of the skinfold sites, uh, that you will be performing in class. So, the first site here is the abdominal site. This is going to be a vertical fold, 2 cm to the right side of the umbilicus, or the belly button.
Our next site here will be the chest site, uh, this will be on a male subject, uh, which is a little bit different when you're talking male versus female. Again, this is going to be the male measure. It's a diagonal fold; it's going to be 1/2 the distance between the anterior axillary line (so that's the line in the upper part of the shoulder on the front side) and the nipple.
Again, one half this distance—you basically create an imaginary line, take that half distance, and then you're going to take your pinch. Our next site is going to be the mid-axillary. This is going to be a vertical fold and it's going to be on the mid-axillary line at the level of the xiphoid process of the sternum.
So, the xiphoid process is located at the bottom of the sternum. The mid-axillary line is basically an imaginary line that runs down the side of your participant. To start, you're going to have your subject raise their arm up and place it on your shoulder; this is going to give you access to the site that you're trying to measure.
At that point, you locate your xiphoid process, you draw a line all the way over until it meets with the mid-axillary line, and then you can take your measurement. Okay, our next site is the subscapular. This is going to be on the backside of an individual, so they should face away from you.
It's going to be a diagonal fold at about a 45° angle, and it's going to be 1 to 2 cm below the inferior angle of the scapula. All right, as you can see on our subject here, the scapula is a little bit difficult to locate. So, one of the ways that you can help locate this inferior border is to have your subject place their arm behind their back.
As you can see, it helps basically pop the scapula out, uh, from the skin a little bit more, making it easier to find that inferior border. Once you locate it, your subject will then relax their arm, and then you will move your 1 to 2 cm below, keeping in mind that once again this is a diagonal fold. The next site is the suprailiac site.
This is going to be on the front side of the individual. Once again, this is a diagonal fold and it's going to be in line with the natural angle of the iliac crest. So that is basically the crest of the pelvis.
It's going to be taken immediately superior to this. However, you're going to need to locate this iliac crest, and the way that is possible is to basically palpate—make sure that your subject is okay with this. You identify what you're going to be doing with them, palpate for the peak of the iliac crest, and then you are going to be able to locate your site, make your mark, and take your measure.
Our next site here will be the triceps. This is going to be a vertical fold on the posterior midline of the upper arm. Your two sites that you need to identify are the acromion and the olecranon processes.
The acromion is within the shoulder, the olecranon is within the elbow. You identify these two sites, you basically measure between these two sites, identify the midway point, make your mark, and you can take your measure. Once again, making sure that you're staying on the posterior midline, your subject should also not flex their arm; it should just hang freely to their side.
Our final site is going to be the thigh. Okay, this is going to be a vertical fold, uh, right in the area of the quadriceps on your individual. However, positioning of your subject is very important, as the thigh muscle is very large, making it very difficult to get an accurate pinch, uh, on an individual.
So, one of the ways, uh, that we can properly position a subject to help make it a little bit easier is for them to take their weight off their leg. You place a chair or a table next to your subject, allowing them to balance themselves, and then you ask them to put all their weight onto their left leg. All right, so there should be no weight, no flexing of the muscle, uh, of the right leg before you go to take that measure.
After you've done this, you're basically going to be looking for the anterior midline of the thigh, so the front line that goes down the middle of the leg, and you're going to measure midway between the proximal border of the patella (so that's the top part of the kneecap) and the inguinal crease. Okay, that's the crease basically where the leg meets the pelvis. You can use a tape measure to find that midline.
Once you've found it, make sure you're on the anterior border and take your measure. All right, so what you'll be seeing here now is the slight differences in the chest and subscapular sites for the skin folds on a female participant. We're going to start with the chest site.
So, normally, um, as we talked about previously with a male, it's between the um, shoulder and the nipple of the participant, and it's about halfway between that imaginary line. On a female, however, it's only going to be 1/3 of the distance, more closer to the shoulder. See, we'll be marking the site there so we can repeat our measurements appropriately.
Uh, you always want to ask your participant to make sure that she's okay with the site and the placement. You can ask for their help and ask her to slide her sports bra off to the side so that you can get to exactly the right site that you need. Now, we'll show the subscapular site.
You'll have your subject face away from you, in the same position. You know, it's the same site as the male site; however, once again, with females who wear sports bras, as they go through this testing procedure, you may ask them to hold the sports bra out of the way so that you can appropriately identify the site. You'll find the inferior border of the scapula, locate your site marker, and then you can take your measurement.
Now we'll show the subcap site. You'll have your subject face away from you, in the same position. You know, it's the same site as the male site; however, once again, with females who wear sports bras, as they go through this testing procedure, you may ask them to hold the sports bra out of the way so that you can appropriately identify the site.
You'll find the inferior border of the scapula, locate your site marker, and then you can take your measurement.
