Muscles & Biomechanics

Muscles
• Respond to both internal and external forces
in the environment
• They show passive tension from being
stretched
• They show active force from innervation of
the nervous system
 Structure
• A muscle fiber is an
individual cell with
multiple nuclei
• There is a sarcomere –
unit within each fiber
• There is extracellular
connective tissue
throughout and
interconnected
 The Sarcomere
• This is the ultimate
force generator
• Contractile proteins –
actin and myosin
(active)
• Noncontractile proteins
– structural proteins like
titin for passive tension
and desmin for
alignment
 Extracellular Connective Tissue
• Mostly collagen and
elastin (non contractile)
– Epimysium – surrounds
muscle belly
– Perimysium – fibers into
fascicles
– Endomyseium – each
fiber; metabolic change
between fibers and
capillaries happens here
 Morphology - shapes
• Fusiform
• Pennate
• Strap
• Cruciate
• P. 136
 Architecture of a Muscle
• A cross section shows active # of protiens
• A pennate has more force due to more fibers
fitting in the same space
• Maximal force potential of a muscle is
proportionate to the sum of the cross sectional
areal of all its fibers
– Easy to measure on a fusiform muscle
– The pennate is more difficult. You need to find the
angle of orientation of fibers and tendons.
 Example of angle on force
• 0° for force = 100% force

• 30° for the force = 86% force (cosine 30=86)

 Isometric Torque
• Changes depending on the
angle of arm and pathology
• Concentric – as wt increases,
speed of contractions slows –
“Positive Work”
• Eccentric – as wt increases,
speed of contractions
increases – “Negative Work”
• Isometric – int/ext match
with no lifting & wt still
 Neuro Contribution
• Alpha motor neurons from anterior horn cells
of spinal cord control motor
• The alpha motor neuron + innervated fibers =
‘motor unit’
• Neurons get recruited and then accelerate
(rate coding)
• Signal action potential contraction
(twitch)
 Twitch Muscles
• S = Slow twitch = Type I – mostly postural –
low fatigue – brought in first - dark
• FR = Fast fatigue-resistant = Type IIA – in
between S and FF - red
• FF = Fast-easily fatigable = Type IIB – after
recruitment for slow ones when extra force is
needed - pale
 Muscle Fatigue
• Normal from exercised induced
maximum effort
• Not always seen IN the exercise
(fatigue there but they don’t show)
• Recovery is faster from increased
intensity/short duration than low
intensity/long duration
• Eccentric less fatigue (negative
work)…delayed onset (24-72
hours) is often higher in eccentric
 Changes in Muscles
• 1RM – the largest amount that can be lifted one
time (one max rep)
• Low resistance training is slower to change the 1RM
than high resistance but endurance gained is higher
• Increase in muscle strength can be from fiber
hypertrophy (this is NOT adding more fibers)
• Strength gains from more neuro innervation –
imagery has been found to be effective but MOST is
from overload training
 Muscle Atrophy
• From decreased use or
immobilization
• Strength loss is twice as much as
muscle wasting
• Lose 10% of muscle yields 20%
loss of strength
• Atrophy is worse if immobilized
with muscle shortened
• Advanced age – 10% decline
after 60 – sarcopenia leads to a
decrease in size and number of
fibers
Biomechanics

Newton’s Laws
 Newton Law #1
• Law of Inertia
• Torque is required to start or to stop rotation
• Decreased size of mass has decreased requirement for
resistance
– Bringing a car to a stop or starting a car from a stopped
position
– Easier to stop a 3 year old than a linebacker (sometimes )

• Center of gravity
 Newton’s Law #2
• Law of Acceleration F=MxA
• Linear acceleration is based on force that creates
direction and velocity
• Torque with lighter resistance has greater acceleration
• Impulse-momentum relationship – addresses the
issue of abrupt forces acting on an accelerated object
– Cars need a strong/abrupt force to counteract momentum
– Likewise, the body protects itself thru shock absorption
 Work
• Force x displacement
• Measured in joules (J)
• If linear, W = F x linear displacement
• If angular, W = T x angular displacement
• Average Power (P) is work/time
• Also be found by Force x Displacement/Time
 Newton’s Law #3
• Law of Action-Reaction
• Equal reactions
• Supporting surface can have equal resistance,
less resistance or more resistance