FUNCTIONS OF THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM

Jorge Agustn Andrade Coronado

Muscles hold the body erect and make movement possible. Muscle movement generates nearly 85% of the heat that keeps the body warm.

Muscles move food through the digestive system.

Muscle movement, such as walking, aids the flow of blood through veins as it returns to the heart. Muscle action moves fluids through the ducts and tubes associated with other body systems.

Functions of Muscles The muscles play a major role in the body, from producing movement, maintaining posture, stabilizing joints, assisting in the circulation of blood in the body and generating heat. Muscles are used in every body movement performed such as heart beat, food being digested and all body movements. Producing Movement Muscles produce movement by the action of muscles crossing joints between the bones of the skeleton, the muscles are connected to the joints/bones via tendons. For example when you extend your elbow the tendons in your elbow pull on the muscles to allow the movement to take place.

Maintaining Posture

The muscles define how well our bones and body are stabilized. For example if we train our trapezius muscles then our neck will have better support because the muscle is stronger and can take more force and weight resulting in a stronger neck.
Stabilizing Joints Muscles play a role in the stabilization of the joints. The muscles limit movement in a joint or provide balance the joint for a more stable joint. For example a lot of people will complain about lower back pain and a common cause of this pain is underdeveloped stabilizer muscles in this case the Multifidus muscle group.

Generating Heat Muscles also produce heat within the body when they contract. This heat causes blood vessels in the skin to dilate, which will increase the blood flow to the skin. The heat that the muscles produce is energy with only around 20-25% of this energy being efficient mechanical energy. The other 75-80% of the energy is lost as heat through the skin. For example when a athlete starts to sweat that is the body releasing the excess energy as heat and the body releasing sweat to cool the skin down. Assistance in Blood Circulation When muscles contract they produce chemicals that act on the arterioles dilating them, regulating the blood flow for the required exercise being carried out. For example a power lifter will have to intake a lot of oxygen to provide to the muscles to lift such a large amount of static weight, so the blood vessels in the muscles allow this to happen by dilating and becoming bigger due to heat when it is required.