Synergies; functional relationships among muscles

Agonists
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Helping
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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.