Synergies; functional relationships among muscles

Agonists
An
tag
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Helping
synergis
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True
Synergi
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Stabilize
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AGONIST
according to your text:
"A contracting muscle (or muscle group) that is
considered to be the principal muscle producing a joint
motion or maintaining a posture ... (Smith, Weiss, &
Lehmkuhl, 1996, p.131)."
Our definition:
ONE MEMBER OF A GROUP OF MUSCLES WHOSE LINE OF
APPLICATION PRODUCES A GIVEN MOMENT AT A GIVEN
JOINT.
Viewed in a particular plane, the muscles whose lines of
application are on the same side of a joint axis are
agonists.
For example:
Muscles whose lines
of application lie on
the anterior side of
the knee joint's
lateral axis are
agonists for
extension.
Muscles whose lines
of application lie on
the opposite,
posterior side are
agonists for flexion.

STABILIZATION
We typically focus our analysis on the moving bone or
segment, and on the muscle forces which produce movement
in that segment. We must remember that these muscles
exert equal forces on the "non-moving" or stable bone. For
instance, when the vastus lateralis exerts force on the tibial
tuberosity to move the tibia, it exerts an equal force on its
attachment to the femur. However, the femur is stable
because some force prevents its moving.
Any force can provide this stabilization. In most cases of
human movement, stabilizing forces are gravitational; the
stable segment, in this case the femur and the rest of the
body, are literally too heavy for the muscle to move.
The stabilizing force could also be muscular. For instance,
when you perform a sit-up, the abdominal muscles pull on
the pelvis with the same force that they pull on the ribcage.
The pelvis doesn't tilt posteriorly because some force tilts it
anteriorly. This force might come from activity in the hip
flexors.
If so, then what force stabilizes the lower extremities
to which the hip flexors attach? Gravity might stabilize
the LE, that is, the LE might be heavy enough to stay
put. However, if the abdominals pull very forcefully on
the pelvis, and the hip flexors in turn pull very
forcefully on the LE, someone may have to sit on the
legs to stabilize them.
Here's another example: "When I lie supine, and flex one hip,
I feel no action in my abdominals. Hoever, I notice though
that I push into the ground with my "resting" leg. When I
attempt to flex both hips, my abdominals act vigourously.
What is the purpose of the abdominals?"
The muscle activity that you feel, aside from that in the
hip flexors, are likely attempts at stabilization of the
pelvis, which is a site of attachment for the hip flexors.
When you flex both hips, the abdominals prevent the
hip flexors from tilting the pelvis anteriorly. Similarly,
the pushing that you perceive in the contralateral leg
during the "single leg raise" comes from the
contralateral hip extensors, which also prevent anterior
pelvic tilt.

ELEMENTS OF DEFINITION OF A HELPING SYNERGY

1. MULTI-AXIAL JOINT
2. 2 (OR MORE) MUSCLES WITH COMMON ACTION IN ONE PLANE
3. AND OPPOSING ACTIONS IN OTHER PLANE(S)
NOTE THAT HELPING SYNERGISTS ARE NOT ANTAGONISTIC.
An example:
Muscle A flexes, internally rotates,
and abducts the hip
Muscle B extends, externally
rotates, and abducts the hip
Acting together, in a synergy, the
two muscles can abduct the hip
while producing little or no
movement in other planes.

ELEMENTS OF DEFINITION OF A TRUE SYNERGY:

1. A MULTI-ARTICULAR MUSCLE WHICH CAUSES MOVEMENT AT
EACH JOINT IT CROSSES
2. A SECOND MUSCLE WHICH OPPOSES THE MULTI-ARTICULAR
MUSCLE'S ACTION AT AT LEAST ONE JOINT (BUT NOT AT
EVERY JOINT.)

EXAMPLE OF A TRUE SYNERGY - HAMSTRINGS

1. HAMSTRINGS ARE MULTI-ARTICULAR (CROSS MORE THAN
ONE JOINT).
HAMSTRINGS PRODUCE HIP EXTENSION AND KNEE
FLEXION
2. FOR HAMSTRINGS TO PRODUCE KNEE FLEXION WITHOUT HIP
EXTENSION,
A (ONE-JOINT) HIP FLEXOR MUST ACT WITH THE
HAMSTRINGS IN A TRUE SYNERGY.

3. FOR HAMSTRINGS TO PRODUCE HIP EXTENSION WITHOUT

KNEE FLEXION:
A (ONE-JOINT) KNEE EXTENSOR MUST ACT WITH THE
HAMSTRINGS IN A TRUE SYNERGY.
QUESTION:
My definition of a true synergist is one that involves a
muscle which inhibits all of another muscles actions except
one (the one that is the desirable action) but doesn't aid in
the desirable function either.
If my definition is correct, I can't seem to see a true
synergist acting in the foot. Can you give me an example of
one at the foot and tell me how it acts?
ANSWER:
Your definition of a true synergy makes sense to me: one of
the muscles must act on several joints. The other "inhibits"
or counteracts its actions on at least one but not all of those
joints.
The example we used in lecture involves the extensor
digitorum longus (EDL), a muscle which crosses the ankle,
subtalar joint (STJ), and, in fact, every joint all the way to the
DIP joint.
The EDL will act on each of those joints, dorsiflexing the
ankle, pronating the subtalar joint, then extending the MP,
PIP, and DIP joints.
If we want to extend the DIP joint, the EDL is the only muscle
we have to do this. However, if we use the EDL by itself, it
will also move the ankle, STJ, etc. If we want to extend the
toes at the DIP joint and not move every other joint, we need
to activate another muscle, a synergist, along with the EDL.
This synergist should counter the EDL at both the ankle and
STJ. Since the EDL dorsiflexes the ankle and pronates the
STJ, the syngergist should plantar flex the ankle and
supinate the STJ. A muscle which does this is the tibialis
posterior. Thus, the EDL and the tibialis posterior act in a
true synergy to extend the DIP joints without moving the
ankle and STJ.
(Note that the flexor digitorum longus also plantar flexes the
ankle, and supinates the STJ. It would not work for this
action, however, because it also crosses the PIP and DIP
joints. In fact, it would be an antagonist for the EDL.)

ANTAGONISTS
Muscles with opposite actions at a joint are
antagonists. Viewed in a particular plane of movement,

the muscles whose lines of application are on opposite

sides of a joint axis are antagonists.
We shouldn't think of muscles as being organized in
agonist-antagonist pairs. We won't find it useful, for
instance, to try to name an antagonist for every single
muscle. Instead, given a functional movement, we
should think of muscles in terms of functional groups
which have opposite actions.
Antagonists generally relax when agonist acts.
Cocontraction or, to use a term I prefer, coactivation,
occurs when muscles on both sides of a joint axis are
active. We often coactivate muscles when we perform
unlearned or novel movements. We also coactivate
muscles when we perform helping or true synergies.
Reference:
Smith, L.K., Weiss, E.L., & Lehmkuhl, L.D. (1996).
Brunnstrom's clinical kinesiology. (5th ed.). Philadelphia:
F.A. Davis.
Last updated 9-22-00 Dave Thompson PT
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