The muscular system

1. The muscular system • There are more than 600 muscles in the body and they are all attached to bones. The role of muscles is to contract. When they contract, we move. Muscles are unable to push to enable movement. Instead they shorten, causing joint movement, then relax as opposing muscles pull the joint back into position. The major muscles of the body are shown in figure 4.11 no the next slide. Also the diagram on pg 105 of your text book is very good.

3. -Major muscles involved in movement The basis of all human movement is muscle action. Muscle consists of cells with contractile filaments that move past each other to change the size of the cell. There are three types of muscle in the human body: skeletal, smooth and cardiac. Smooth and cardiac muscles are voluntary muscles that determine movement over which the human body has no control, for example, a heart beat, or the movement of food through the digestive system. Skeletal muscle is responsible for producing human movement, and groups of muscles in the human body work together to control movement patterns.

4. Refer to Handout Major Muscles used in Movement for Reference

5. -Muscle relationship (agonist, antagonist) Muscles work by generating tension that causes change within the cell. The tension created causes a muscle to shorten, lengthen or remain the same length. This is known as muscle contraction. In those cases where movement results the repeated contraction shortens the muscles’ length. The tendons of the shortened muscle pull on the bones in the direction of the contraction and this produces movement. Muscles usually work in paired groups known as the agonist and antagonist. The muscle that is responsible for the shortening action is called the agonist. As the agonist contracts, the other muscle in a pair relaxes and lengthens. This muscle is called the antagonist. This process is shown in elbow flexion. When the elbow flexes, the agonist muscle is the biceps and the antagonist muscle is the triceps because it relaxes and lengthens at the same time as the biceps contracts. The opposite occurs during elbow extension. The triceps contract and straighten the ulna. The triceps become the agonist and the biceps, which relaxes, becomes the antagonist.

6. Stabiliser Stabiliser or fixator muscles act at a joint to stabilise it, giving the muscles a fixed base. The muscle shortens very little during its contraction, causing minimal movement. This permits the action to be carried out correctly and allows other joints to work more effectively. For example, in a dynamic movement such as throwing, while some shoulder muscles serve to propel the object, others act as stabilisers to allow the efficient working of the elbow joint and to reduce the possibility of damage to the joints.

7. -Types of muscle contraction (concentric, eccentric, isometric) Throughout movement, muscles will contract differently to allow movement to occur. The type of contraction used will depend on the movement of the muscle. There are three main types of muscle contractions: isometric and isotonic. See handout Types of muscle Contraction and Textbook pg109 for more information.