Understanding Muscle Tissue
There are three types of muscle tissues that can use the fiber from our body to compose the muscles. The first is skeletal muscle where tendons are attached to the bones and voluntarily controls the movements of the body.
The second is smooth muscle which cannot function willingly and is non-striated as compared to skeletal muscle. The third is cardiac muscle tissue found only in the heart and plays a vital yet involuntarily role in helping pump blood throughout the body.
The structure of the muscle tissue is made up of bundles of fibers that are positioned and separated from large to small and sometimes extend beyond their general limitation to form a tendon. Furthermore, the composition in skeletal muscle tissue is known as fascicles and is assessed only through an individual’s length and type of exercise.
Muscle Shapes
The human body has various muscle shapes, like trapezius, bicep, and deep back muscles. And each muscle serves a purpose and has a different set of characteristics.
The shape of the muscle determines the type of contractions. There are two types of muscle contractions namely isometric and isotonic contractions. And the difference is based on their increase in length and distance from one muscle to another.
Role and Functions of Muscle
The elastic nature of muscles naturally attaches to the bones by tendons. Muscle functions primarily refer to conditions, such as irritability, contractility, elasticity, and extensibility.
The point of insertion occurs when the movement area is more open for muscles. The muscle responsible for performing the primary movements in the body is known as agonist while the muscle that counteracts the movements of the prime mover is called the antagonist.
Classification of Muscles
The trapezius muscle is divided into three categories, namely; the upper, middle, and lower region of the body and are directly involved in the elevation, depression, and upward rotation of the scapula. The rhomboid muscle, however, can also be found within the trapezius muscle. The focus is to keep the scapula in line with the ribcage.
Moreover, the levator scapulae muscle helps move the neck from one side of the body to another laterally. And pectoralis minor muscle comes into the picture when scapula moves toward the thorax. The serratus anterior muscle, on the other hand, is used to stabilize the upward movement of the scapula.
Pectoralis major, coracobrachialis, deltoid, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis, latissimus dorsi, and teres minor and major are the eight separate upper extremities muscles that cause arm movements.
The bicep or the bicep brachii muscle is located on the anterior upper arm to provide flexion to the arm and influence movement of the forearm. Another major muscle is the supinator muscle that revitalizes the upward hand and forearm movement to twist or supinate. And the pronator teres and the pronator quadratus muscles aim to twist and spinate downward position.
The muscles such as the flexor carpi radialis, flexor carpi ulnaris, and Palmaris longus play a crucial part in causing the flexion of the wrists. And then there are some muscles, such as the extensor carpi radialis longus, the extensor carpi ulnaris and extensor carpi radialis brevis that help the extension of the wrists.
Gluteus maximus is the key component upon which the thigh and lateral rotators muscles function. This also helps rotate the hips.
And the upper leg muscles comprise the biceps femoris, the semi-tendinosis, and the semi-membranous. There are some muscles, like flexor digitorum superficialis, flexor digiti minimi, and extensor indicis that inherently impact the muscle movement in the fingers.
The central region of the abdominal muscle is called the rectus abdominis which helps relieve the stress on the gut walls. Meanwhile, the diaphragm is the sole muscle that assists with the respiratory system. Muscles, such as masseter, temporalis, and buccinator help in mastication.
The levator palpebrae superioris, superior oblique, superior rectus, lateral rectus, inferior rectus, medial rectus, and inferior oblique are some of the most delicate muscles that provide side-by-side and up-and-down movement to the eyes.
Additionally, there are numerous complex yet interesting facial muscles, like epicranius, corrugator, procerus, nasalis, risorius, and depressor that are used to express emotions, such as sadness, anger, and happiness.
The corrugator and procerus are responsive muscles in the forehead that draws eyebrows together, forms wrinkles, and draws the nose upwards.
Importance of Proprioception
If it weren’t for our unconscious ability to gauge the position of the body, we would find it hard to navigate the most basic movements. And the effort that keeps our state of mind in harmony is called proprioception.
Muscle Spasm and Strains
In simple terms, muscle spasms refer to the involuntary contractions that occur in a single or group of muscles. They’re further divided into tonic and clonic spasms that point to the short or extended time of contraction. Some of the most common spasms among people are hiccups, Charley horses, convulsions, and twitches.
And if muscles are either torn or pulled by an overextended period it is called strain.
It’s of utmost significance for a massage therapist to have a variety of motion and flexibility techniques to prevent muscle atrophy, which is caused by the degeneration of muscles. Hypertrophy, however, is simply the increase in the width of a muscle.
Joints
The hinge, pivot, saddle, gliding, condyloid, ball, and socket are some of the common types of joints that focus on flexion, adduction, extension, and rotation to axis movements,
The massage therapists also take into account the active, passive, and resistant range of motion of a joint to achieve ideal flexibility.
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