The Muscle Function You Never Hear About
When any discussion of muscle function is raised, the list of possible topics is enormous.
This list could include different types of muscles, of which there are three (cardiac, smooth, and skeletal).
The skeletal type is what most people are most familiar with as it is this type that produces body movement.
The list would also include the composition of muscle fibers and cells (histology) and the specific chemical reactions that muscles perform to harness energy for contraction (physiology).
The most common item on the list would be kinetics.
This deals with the specific actions of individual and chains of muscles that work together.
Unfortunately, when it comes to true function in work, sports, and play our general understanding of muscles is lacking a very critical piece.
That piece is part of the kinetic function of muscles known as STABILIZATION.
This is truly unfortunate, because if we had a better appreciation of the stabilization function of muscles we would most likely be injured less often, rehabilitate faster, and perform at higher levels.
Good but Misinformed Intentions We, in general as a society, get most of our muscle knowledge from the self-proclaimed fitness gurus we see on TV, internet, or read about in magazines.
This was particularly true up until 5-8 years ago, when things began to progressively improve.
While most people in the fitness industry have good intentions there is no requirement necessary to don the title of personal trainer.
More often than not, the gold standard for trainers is usually that they look good or are in shape so they must know what they're talking about.
This is no more true than assuming all race car drivers are expert mechanics.
The Forgotten but Critical Factor Sir Isaac Newton was kind enough to give several laws concerning motion that are critical to our understanding of muscle function.
The first law is called the law of inertia.
It states that an object at rest or in motion will continue that way unless acted on by a force.
Newton's second law gives us an understanding of acceleration, and we understand this law in knowing that the force necessary to lift a heavy object is greater than the force for a light object.
The third law is the most pertinent to this article, and it states that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.
What Does That Have to do with Muscle Function? This concept in functional terms means that we need to stabilize our bodies in order to produce the purposeful movement we desire.
For example if we want to curl a weight with the arm from waist level to shoulder level, just about anyone can name the muscle performing this movement as the biceps.
The biceps muscle attaches to the upper arm bone at one end and the forearm close to the elbow at the other end.
In order to complete the lift, it must contract and shorten.
If our dumbbell weighs 30 lbs we must apply a force greater than 30 lbs to get the weight to move-simple right? Here's the key, in order for the biceps to produce that force at the forearm the shoulder muscle must hold (stabilize) the upper arm attachment still so all our effort is applied in the direction of the lifting the weight.
This is a very simple example but imagine what muscles provide this stability function in more complex activities like rising from a chair or lifting overhead.
What Happens When the Stabilization is Inadequate? In the case where the load to be moved exceeds the body's ability to provide adequate stabilization we can either fail at the task, compensate or both.
More often than not, we will unconsciously compensate by recruiting more muscles in order to provide even small amounts of additional stability.
This is an amazing ability, but often makes us our own worst enemies, as compensating muscles are asked to participate in tasks they are poorly suited to do mechanically.
With time and/or repetition this=Strain=Pain=more compensation.
To see this in action we can take our bicep curl example from above.
When we increase the weight beyond the stabilizers capacity or the capacity of the biceps itself we will see a series of fairly predictable progression of compensations occur.
First the elbows are pinched into the sides of the body.
Second, the low back will arch and the hips thrust forward, and eventually the weight will be swung forward using momentum.
It is easy to understand how someone who repeatedly lifts weight this way is likely to strain the back, hips, or shoulder because the primary stabilization mechanism is insufficient.
Ironically, our inherent ability to compensate in these ways goes on all the time in mostly unnoticeable ways, and it is only when the balance of the entire system is evaluated can we appreciate the areas that need attention.
With this in mind it is easy to understand how training muscles entirely related to their movement producing capabilities often leaves the surrounding stabilizers at risk for injury.
When it comes to exercise to perform better or rehabilitate an injury/pain, the role of the stabilization is usually more important than the target movement produced.
If you have had pain/ injury or would just like to get the most out of your exercise efforts evaluation by a qualified professional is time and money well spent.
This list could include different types of muscles, of which there are three (cardiac, smooth, and skeletal).
The skeletal type is what most people are most familiar with as it is this type that produces body movement.
The list would also include the composition of muscle fibers and cells (histology) and the specific chemical reactions that muscles perform to harness energy for contraction (physiology).
The most common item on the list would be kinetics.
This deals with the specific actions of individual and chains of muscles that work together.
Unfortunately, when it comes to true function in work, sports, and play our general understanding of muscles is lacking a very critical piece.
That piece is part of the kinetic function of muscles known as STABILIZATION.
This is truly unfortunate, because if we had a better appreciation of the stabilization function of muscles we would most likely be injured less often, rehabilitate faster, and perform at higher levels.
Good but Misinformed Intentions We, in general as a society, get most of our muscle knowledge from the self-proclaimed fitness gurus we see on TV, internet, or read about in magazines.
This was particularly true up until 5-8 years ago, when things began to progressively improve.
While most people in the fitness industry have good intentions there is no requirement necessary to don the title of personal trainer.
More often than not, the gold standard for trainers is usually that they look good or are in shape so they must know what they're talking about.
This is no more true than assuming all race car drivers are expert mechanics.
The Forgotten but Critical Factor Sir Isaac Newton was kind enough to give several laws concerning motion that are critical to our understanding of muscle function.
The first law is called the law of inertia.
It states that an object at rest or in motion will continue that way unless acted on by a force.
Newton's second law gives us an understanding of acceleration, and we understand this law in knowing that the force necessary to lift a heavy object is greater than the force for a light object.
The third law is the most pertinent to this article, and it states that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.
What Does That Have to do with Muscle Function? This concept in functional terms means that we need to stabilize our bodies in order to produce the purposeful movement we desire.
For example if we want to curl a weight with the arm from waist level to shoulder level, just about anyone can name the muscle performing this movement as the biceps.
The biceps muscle attaches to the upper arm bone at one end and the forearm close to the elbow at the other end.
In order to complete the lift, it must contract and shorten.
If our dumbbell weighs 30 lbs we must apply a force greater than 30 lbs to get the weight to move-simple right? Here's the key, in order for the biceps to produce that force at the forearm the shoulder muscle must hold (stabilize) the upper arm attachment still so all our effort is applied in the direction of the lifting the weight.
This is a very simple example but imagine what muscles provide this stability function in more complex activities like rising from a chair or lifting overhead.
What Happens When the Stabilization is Inadequate? In the case where the load to be moved exceeds the body's ability to provide adequate stabilization we can either fail at the task, compensate or both.
More often than not, we will unconsciously compensate by recruiting more muscles in order to provide even small amounts of additional stability.
This is an amazing ability, but often makes us our own worst enemies, as compensating muscles are asked to participate in tasks they are poorly suited to do mechanically.
With time and/or repetition this=Strain=Pain=more compensation.
To see this in action we can take our bicep curl example from above.
When we increase the weight beyond the stabilizers capacity or the capacity of the biceps itself we will see a series of fairly predictable progression of compensations occur.
First the elbows are pinched into the sides of the body.
Second, the low back will arch and the hips thrust forward, and eventually the weight will be swung forward using momentum.
It is easy to understand how someone who repeatedly lifts weight this way is likely to strain the back, hips, or shoulder because the primary stabilization mechanism is insufficient.
Ironically, our inherent ability to compensate in these ways goes on all the time in mostly unnoticeable ways, and it is only when the balance of the entire system is evaluated can we appreciate the areas that need attention.
With this in mind it is easy to understand how training muscles entirely related to their movement producing capabilities often leaves the surrounding stabilizers at risk for injury.
When it comes to exercise to perform better or rehabilitate an injury/pain, the role of the stabilization is usually more important than the target movement produced.
If you have had pain/ injury or would just like to get the most out of your exercise efforts evaluation by a qualified professional is time and money well spent.
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