LIVE ONLINE TEACHING
Subject: BIOMECHANICS
Topic : MUSCLE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
Year : II YEAR BPT
Faculty Name : BIJISH KUMAR B
Designation : VICE PRINCIPAL (PESCOP)
Department : PHYSIOTHERAPY
PES Institute of Medical Sciences & Research
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
Understand:
• Muscle anatomy and Physiology
• Composition, types of muscle fibers
• Motor unit
• Contraction
• Muscle architecture
• Muscle tension
• Classification of muscles
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Muscle
• Muscle is a group of muscle tissues which contract
together to produce a force. A muscle consists of fibers
of muscle cells surrounded by protective tissue,
bundled together, all surrounded in a thick protective
tissue.
• Human body has approximately 640 muscles.
Almost 50% of total body weight in adults.
Responsible for body movements and posture
• Muscle tissue is categorized into three distinct types:
Skeletal, Cardiac, and Smooth.
• Largest and thick : Gluteus Maximus
• Smallest, shortest and thin : Stapedius
• Longest : Sartorius
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Role of muscle
• Stability is defined as the ability to maintain control of
joint movement or position by coordinating actions of
surrounding tissues and the neuromuscular system.
• Mobility relates to movement
The muscle, fascia and elastic connective tissue
surrounding a joint function to create movement and
provide the stability responsible for controlling joint
position while it is in motion.
Optimal mobility allows a joint to experience full,
unrestricted motion while controlling the constantly
moving axis of rotation.
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Structural Organization of Skeletal Muscle
• Muscle cells contain protein filaments of actin and myosin
that slide past one another, producing a contraction that
changes both the length and the shape of the
cell. Muscles function to produce force and motion.
• Muscle Fibers
Composition of Muscle fibre:
Skeletal muscle fibres
Muscle contains fascicles- group of fibers -- cell
membrane — sarcolemma -- cytoplasm called sarcoplasm
-- contains myofibrils -- composed of thick myofilaments -
myosin and thin filaments-actin (contractile proteins)
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Structural proteins
• It has several structural proteins.
• Desmin : involved in the transmission of force
along the fiber and to adjoining fibers
• Titin : It is large protein and maintains the
position of the thick filament during muscle
contraction and in the development of passive
tension
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Structure of a muscle
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Muscle Fibers
Contain: Sarcomere
sarcolemma Z lines
sarcoplasm M line
nuclei A band
mitochondria myosin filaments
myofibrils I band
myofilaments actin filaments
H zone
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Contractile Unit
Organization :
• Sarcomere : The portion of myofibril between two
Z disks (located at regular intervals throughout
the myofibrils)
• A band: Portion of sarcomere extends over both
the length of the thick filaments and a small
portion of thin filaments (Anisotropic)
• I bands: Only actin filaments (Isotropic)
• H zone: The central portion of the thick filament
where no overlap with the thin filament
• M band: Central portion of H zone which consists
of wide middle portion of thick filaments
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Filaments of muscle
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Cross bridge interaction: (Bonding of Filaments)
• It’s the interaction between the thick and thin filaments of
sarcomere leading to muscle contraction, initiated by nerve
impulse at the motor end plate, evokes electrical impulse or
action potential along the muscle fiber.
• Action potential – release of calcium ions – cause troponin
to reposition the tropomyosin molecules – receptor sites on
actin are free and head groups of myosin can bind with
actin.
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Types of Contraction
• Concentric contraction (Active shortening)
Muscle fibers shortens – if sufficient number of
sarcomeres actively shorten and either one or both the
ends are free to move.
• Eccentric contraction (Lengthening contraction)
Thin filaments being pulled towards the thick filaments
• Isometric contraction (no change in length)
Muscle fiber will not change length if the force created
by the cross bridge cycle is matched by external force
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Types of muscle contraction
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Motor Units
Organization :
• Sarcomere is the basic unit of tension but part
of larger complex call Motor Units
• Consists of alpha motor neuron (largest and
multipolar lower motor neurons in spinal cord
with myelinated axons, innervate extrafusal
muscle fibers of skeletal muscle and initiate
muscle contraction, cell body located in
anterior horn of spinal cord)
• The axon extends and terminates in motor end
plate close to sarcolemma of single muscle
fiber
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• Motor units always vary according to the size of the
neuron cell body, diameter of axon, number of muscle
fibers and type of muscle fibers.
• Size of motor unit is determined by number of muscle
fiber and size of motor nerve axon.
• Number varies from 2 or 3 to thousands depends upon
the muscle action
• Eye muscle have less motor units
• Platysma has 1000 small motor units
• Gastrocnemius has 2000 motor units (mix of small and
large motor units)
• Recruitment of motor units depends upon the contraction
required.
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Motor unit
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Microscopic view of Motor endplate
(Neuromuscular junction)
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Muscle structure
Muscle fibers
• Type I : Slow twitch – long endurance – Marathon
Lower intensity
• Type II : Fast twitch – fatigue faster – Sprinting
Higher intensity
Biceps : 60% fast twitch and 40% slow twitch fibers
Soleus : 80 % Type I : Stability and Postural muscles
Hamstring : Type II : Mobility and Non-postural
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Characteristics of Skeletal Muscle fibers
Type I (Slow Type II A Type II B
oxidative) (Fast Oxidative (Fast
Glycolytic) Glycolytic)
Diameter Small Intermediate Large
Muscle color Red Red White
Capillarity Dense Dense Sparse
Myoglobin High Intermediate Low
content
Speed of Slow Fast Fast
contraction
Rate of fatigue Slow Intermediate Fast
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Relationship of fiber type to muscle function
Fiber type:
• Fast Twitch (FT)
• Type IIa
• Type IIb
• Slow Twitch (ST)
• Type I
• Peak tension reaches in FT in 1/7 time of ST
• ST and FT compose skeletal muscles
• Percentages of each range from muscle to muscle and
individual to individual.
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• Effects of training:
• Endurance training can increase ST contraction
velocity by 20%
• Resistance training can convert FT fibers from Type II
A to Type II B
• Elite athlete fiber type distribution does not significantly
differ from untrained individuals
• Affected by:
• Age and Obesity
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Recruitment of motor units
• CNS enables matching of speed and magnitude of
muscle contraction to requirement of movement.
• Threshold activation
• ST activated first (low threshold)
• With an increase in speed, force, and/or duration
requirement, higher threshold motor units are
activated (FT fibers)
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Muscle Architecture
• Based on Size, Length and Arrangement (includes
the arrangement of fibers in relation to axis of force,
fiber and muscle length, mass and physiological cross
sectional area)
• Longer muscles always helps the joint to move in
greater ROM, than short length muscles
• The amount of force generated depends upon the
number of sarcomeres
• PCSA: when compared of quadriceps to hamstrings :
pcsa of quads is more and length of hamstring fibers is
more.
• Quads generate more force and hamstring provides
larger ROM.
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Arrangement of fascicles varies among muscle
groups
• Long axis muscles: parallel, spiral, or angulated
Strap or fusiform: parallel (Sternocleidomastoid)
Spiral arrangement (Trapezius, Pectoralis major,
Latissimus dorsi.. etc)
Pennate : resembles the arrangement in feather
• Unipennate : Extensor digitorum, Deltoid(posterior
fiber)
• Bipennate : Lumbricals, Gastrocnemius
• Multipennate : Deltoid Middle fibers, Soleus
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Arrangement of muscle fibers
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MUSCLE FUNCTION
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Muscle tension
• Most important characteristic of muscle is its
ability to develop tension and to exert force on
bony lever
• Tension can be either Active or Passive
• Total tension generated in muscle is the sum of
active and passive tension
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Passive tension (Non contractile tension)
• Tension developed in parallel elastic component
• Created by lengthening the muscle beyond the
slack length of the tissues
• Parallel muscle component may add to active
tension by muscle when lengthened or it may
become slack and not contribute to the total
tension when muscle is shortened
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Active tension (Contractile tension)
• It’s the tension developed by contractile
element of muscle.
• Its initiated by cross bridge formation and
movement of thin and thick filaments
• The amount of tension generated depends on
neural factors (frequency, number and size of
motor units) and mechanical properties
(isometric length-tension relationship and the
force-velocity relationship)
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Isometric Length-Tension Relationship
• There is direct relationship between isometric
tension development and the length of
sarcomere in muscle fiber
• At optimal length maximal isometric tension
(due to position of thin and thick filaments
forming maximum number of cross bridges in
sarcomere)
• Lengthening or shortening beyond optimal
length cause reduced amount of active tension
(few cross bridge formation)
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The length-tension curve is divided into 3 distinct
regions
1. Ascending curve
2. Plateau
3. Descending curve
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• ASCENDING: In this region , the force output is not
maximal as there is no cross-bridge formation due to the
double overlap of the actin filaments
• PLATEAU: At this region , the muscle is at optimal
length for maximal force generation since the actin and
myosin are so positioned for maximal cross-bridge
formation
• DESCENDING: In this region there is less overlap
between the actin and myosin filaments and less number
of cross bridge formations leading to decreased force
output
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LENGTH-TENSION CURVE
MOST OF THE
CROSS-BRIDGES
ARE FORMED
MAXIMAL TENSION
T OPTIMAL LENGTH
E
S
I
O
N
SHORTENED LENGTHENED
MUSCLE FIBER MUSCLE FIBER
ACTIN ANDMYOSIN OVERLAP THERE IS NO OVERLAP
AND TENSION DECREASES OF ACTIN AND MYOSIN
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Application of Length-Tension Relationship
• On applying the L-T Relationship to muscle joint
system, sarcomere length is not homogenous
• At particular joint position, there are sarcomeres at
different lengths corresponding to different point of L-T
relationship
• During movement torque produced at joint is not only
due to muscle force but also function of MA of muscle.
• So at particular joint position, muscle length may be
short but has long MA, maintaining higher torque.
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• Muscles has diminished ability to produce
isometric contraction at extremes of joint motion
• Common in muscles that cross more than one
joint, in which muscle length excursion is greater
than in single joint muscles
• Torque of muscles reduces when full ROMM is
attempted at all the joints crossed by multi-joint
muscle
• This decrease in torque is called Active
Insufficiency
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Active Insufficiency
a. When attempting to make
a fist, is unable to do as the
fingers and wrist are flexed
and extensors are
lengthened.
b. The L-T relationship of
flexors and extensors are
improved by stabilization of
wrist in position of mild
extension and able to form
tight fist.
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Types of muscle contraction (Action)
Isometric contraction : constant length Static
• Both distal and proximal bony levers are fixed,
muscle develops Active tension
• Sarcomere doesn’t change length
Dynamic contractions :
• Concentric : Sarcomere shortens
• Eccentric : Sarcomere lengthens (the load is
greater than the force of the sarcomere)
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CHARACTERISTIC ISOMETRIC CONCENTRIC ECCENTRI C
CONTRACTION CONTRACTION CONTRACTION
SARCOMERE CONSTANT SHORTEN LENGTHEN
LENGTH
BONE NO CLOSER MOVE AWAY
MOVEMENT TOGETHER
WORK DONE BY ZERO OR NO POSITIVE WORK NEGATIVE
MUSCLE WORK WORK
TENSION GREAT LOW GREATEST
DEVELOPMENT
MAINTAINING ELBOW FLEXION ELBOW
EXAMPLE ELBOW AT 90 FULL ROM WITH EXTENSION
DEGREE WITH DUMBBELL FULL ROM WITH
DUMBBELL DUMBBELL
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• Speed : Distance travelled per unit time.
• Angular velocity : Defined as the rate of change of
angular position with respect to time.
• Applied load : Physical stresses acting on the body or
body segments within the body.
• Voluntary control : Movement or activity done in
accordance with the conscious will of the individual
• Torque : Force that tends to cause rotational movement
around the joint axis.
• Isokinetic Exercise : Maintained a constant velocity,
the resistance produced by the isokinetic device is
directly proportional to the torque produced by the muscle
at all the points in the ROM.
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Factors affecting Muscle Tension
• Tension may be increased by increasing the frequency
of firing of a motor unit or by increasing the number of
motor units that are firing
• Tension may be increased by recruiting motor units
with a large number of fibers
• The greater the number of cross-bridges that are
formed, the greater the tension
• Muscle that have large PCSA are capable of producing
more tension than muscles which has smaller PCSA
• Tension increases as the velocity of active shortening
decreases and as the velocity of active lengthening
increases
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Classification of muscles
Muscles are classified in different ways :
Shape : Rhomboids, deltoid
No. of heads : Biceps, Triceps, Quadriceps
Location : Biceps femoris, Tibialis posterior
Combination of location and function : EDL,FPB
Basis of action : Flexors, Extensors, Rotators
Role : Agonist, Antagonists, Synergists, Fixators,Neutralizer
Attachment : Spurt and Shunt muscles
Tone : Phasic and Tonic Muscles
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• Agonist muscles
• Cause joint motion through a specified plane of motion
when contracting concentrically
• Known as primary or prime movers, or muscles most
involved
• Antagonist muscles
• Located on opposite side of joint from agonist
• have the opposite concentric action
• known as contralateral muscles
• work in cooperation with agonist muscles by relaxing
& allowing movement
• when contracting concentrically perform the opposite
joint motion of agonist
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Stabilizers
• surround joint or body part
• contract to fixate or stabilize the area to enable another limb or
body segment to exert force & move known as fixators
• essential in establishing a relatively firm base for the more distal
joints to work from when carrying out movements
Synergist
• assist in action of agonists
• not necessarily prime movers for the action
• known as guiding muscles
• assist in refined movement & rule out undesired motions
Neutralizers
• Counteract or neutralize the action of another muscle to prevent
undesirable movements such as inappropriate muscle
substitutions
• referred to as neutralizing
• contract to resist specific actions of other muscles
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Spurt Muscle : its origin some
distance from the joint about which it
acts and its insertion near the joint. It
directs the greater part of its force
across the bone, rather than along it,
and provides the force that acts
tangentially to the curve traversed by
the bone during movement.
Shunt Muscle: its proximal
attachments near the joint or joints at
which it acts, and its distal
attachments at some distance from the
joints, so that the greater part of its
force is directed along the bones,
tending to pull joint surfaces together.
This makes shunt muscles good
stabilizers.
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• Tonic : responsible for holding your
posture. They can constrict and tighten
making it more difficult to achieve and
maintain correct posture. Contains slow
twitch fibers.
Eg: Pectoralis Major, Upper trapezius,
Levator Scapulae, Scalenes, SCM,Upper
limb flexors
• Phasic : are used for dynamic
movement. They can weaken and
lengthen, making you more prone to
slouching. Contains fast twitch fibers.
Eg : Serratus Anterior, Rhomboids, Lower
trapezius, Deep Neck Flexors, Upper Limb
Extensors
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Based on muscle architecture
• Muscle can change its role
• Antagonist in one action and can be synergist
for the other
• Eg : Extensors and Flexors on ulnar side of
wrist are antagonist during radial deviation but
synergist during ulnar deviation.
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Based on Moment arm
• The orientation of muscle to the joint has also
been used to classify muscle into groups
• The length of muscle MA is important to
determine joint torque and ROM
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Factors affecting Muscle Function
As many factors are there which affect the
function of muscles. As concerned with
biomechanical aspect the factors which can be
considered are:
• Types of joints and location of muscle
attachment
• Number of joints crossed by the muscle
• Passive insufficiency
• Sensory receptors
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Type of joint & location of muscle attachment
• The structure of joint determines the type and range of
motion to occur
• The muscle location or the line of action relative to the
joint determines the motion of muscle.
(anterior flexors, posterior extensors)
• Distal attachment close to joint– wide ROM
• Distance from joint axis– stability function (as majority
of force generated is towards the joint leads to
compressive force)
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• The stability function changes throughout the motion as
rotatory or compressive component of muscle force vary
indirectly with each other
• Maximum joint stability is at the point of greatest
compressive force
• Usually each group of muscle acting on joint produces
different torque at same joint
• Disturbances in normal ratio of agonist & antagonist pair
may create imbalance of joint leads to risk of injury
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Number of joints crossed by the muscle
• Many functional movements require co-ordinated
movements of several joints controlled by combination of
muscles
• To produce a purposeful movement pattern, the control is
designed to minimise necessary muscle force to
accomplish the task & minimise muscle fatigue.
• The motor control strategy ensures that movement is
done efficiently
• It needs co-ordinated efforts of single joint & multi joint
muscles.
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• Single joint muscle produce force and work primarily in
concentric and isometric contraction.
• Multi joint muscle are recruited to control fine regulation of
torque during dynamic movements (eccentric more than
concentric action)
• Multi joint muscles are recruited during complex motions
requiring movement around multiple axis
• Eg : Movement of elbow flexion with forearm supination is
done by biceps brachii with added contribution of
brachialis
• Movement of elbow flexion with forearm pronation is done
primarily by brachialis not the biceps brachii.
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Passive insufficiency
• Term used for insufficient length
• Single joint muscle rarely are of insufficient
extensibility to allow full ROM at joint
• Two joint or multi joint muscles, frequently are
of insufficient extensibility to permit full ROM
simultaneously at all joints crossed by the
muscle.
• The passive tension developed in stretched
muscle is sufficient to either cause motion or
limit the motion.
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Passive Insufficiency
a. With elbow placed on table
and forearm in vertical
position and the hand is
allowed to drop forward into
wrist flexion the fingers tend
to extend due to insufficient
length of finger extensors,
stretched over the flexed
wrist.
b. If wrist is moved to extension
the fingers tend to flex due to
insufficient length of finger
flexors as they are stretched
over extended wrist.
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Sensory receptors
• Normal motor control for voluntary movements
depends on co-ordinationof descending motor
pathways from cortex, muscle action & a constant flow
of sensory information
• In muscle feedback comes from two sensory receptors:
Golgi tendon organ (GTO) and muscle spindles.
• GTO is present in tendon at myotendinous junction–
sensitive to tension– activated by active muscle
contraction or excessive passive stretch– when
excited, sends message to CNS to inhibit muscle
tension.
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• Muscle spindle : consist of 2-10 specialized muscle fibers
(intrafusal fibers) enclosed in connective tissue sheath –
inter-spread throughout the muscle– sensitive to length &
velocity of lengthening (extrafusal fibers)—sends
message to cerebellum about state of stretch.
• Muscle spindle is responsible for sending message to
muscle to contract when the tendon is tapped with
hammer.
• Receptors in the joint capsule and ligaments also
influences muscle activity
• Feed forward control– important role in voluntary control–
allows for anticipatory control of muscle action
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REFERENCES:
1. Hamilton, N., Weimar, W. &Luttgens, K. (2008).
Kinesiology: Scientific basis of human motion.
International edition. (11thed.). McGraw Hill Higher
Education.
2. Muscolino, J. E. (2006). Kinesiology: The skeletal
system and muscle function. Mosby Elsevier.
3. Pamela K.Levangie, Cynthia C.Norkin, (2005) Joint
structure and function – A comprehensive analysis. 4th
edition, F.A.Davis.
4. Cynthia C.Norkin, D.Joyce White, (2003) Measurement
of joint motion – A guide to goniometry, 3rd edition,
F.A.Davis.
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The tragedy of life doesn't lie in not reaching your
goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach -
Benjamin E. Mays
THANK YOU
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