Chapter 3.

Muscle : the Primary

Stabilizer and Mover of the
Skeletal System
Parta Kinandana

Subject : Kinesiology
Date : Wednesday, 6 February 2018
Room : Lecture Hall F.4
Reference
• Neumann DA. 2010. Kinesiology of the
Musculoskeletal System : Foundation for
Rehabilitation. Missouri. Elsevier. Please
Read P : 47-76
Muscles as a Skeletal
Stabilizer
Chap 3. Muscle : the Primary Stabilizer and Mover of the
Skeletal System
Introduction to the Structural
Organization of Skeletal Muscle
• Muscle consist of many individual muscle fibers.
• Fundamental unit within each muscle fiber is known as
the sarcomere.
Sarcomere

Contractile Protein Non-Contractile Protein

• Active Protein • Structural Protein

• Shorten the muscle
fiber and generate an
active force
• Ex : Actin & Myosin
• Generate passive tension
• Provide internal and external support
and alignment of the muscle fiber
• help transfer active forces
throughout the parent muscle.
Extracellular Connective Tissue
• Extracellular connective tissues within muscle are
divided into three sets:
• Epimysium
• Perimysium
• Endomysium
 Extracellular Connective Tissue
The epimysium is a tough structure that surrounds
the entire surface of the muscle belly and separates it
from other muscles. epimysium gives form to the
muscle belly. The epimysium contains tightly woven
bundles of collagen fibers that are resistive to stretch

The perimysium lies beneath the epimysium and

divides muscle into fascicles (i.e., groups of fibers) that
provide a conduit for blood vessels and nerves. This
connective tissue, like epimysium, is tough and relatively
thick and resistive to stretch.
The endomysium surrounds individual muscle fibers,
immediately external to the sarcolemma (cell membrane). The
endomysium marks the location of the metabolic exchange
between muscle fibers and capillaries. endomysium conveys part
of the muscle’s contractile force to the tendon.
A

B
FIGURE 3-1. Basic components of muscle are shown, from the belly to the individual
contractile, or active, proteins (myofilaments). Three sets of connective tissues are also
depicted. A, The muscle belly is enclosed by the epimysium; individual fascicles (groups of
fibers) are surrounded by the perimysium. B, Each muscle fiber is surrounded by the
endomysium. Each myofibril within the muscle fibers contains many myofilaments. C, These
filaments consist of the contractile proteins of actin and myosin.
Muscle Morphology
• Describe the basic shape of a whole muscle.
• Two most common shapes are : Fusiform &
Pennate.

Fusiform  have fibers Pennate  possess fibers

running parallel to one another that approach their central
and to the central tendon tendon obliquely.
Eg : Biceps Brachii Eg : Quadriceps Femoris
Muscle Morphology
Muscle Architecture
Two important architectural features of a muscle:
physiologic cross-sectional area and pennation angle.

Physiologic cross-section area

• Reflects the amount of active proteins available to
generate a contraction force.
• Maximal force potential of a muscle is proportional to
the sum of the cross-sectional area of all its fibers.
• Thicker muscle  greater force than a thinner
muscle of similar morphology.
Pennation Angle
• Represent angle of orientation between the muscle
fibers and tendon.
• Muscle with a pennation angle of 0 degrees
transmits 100% of its contractile force.
• Whereas the same muscle with a pennation angle
of 30 degrees transmits 86% of its force through
the tendon.
• In general, pennate muscles produce greater
maximal force than fusiform muscles of similar
volume.
Muscle Architecture
Pennation Angle

FIGURE 3-3. Unipennate

muscle is shown with its
muscle fibers oriented at a
30-degree pennation angle.
Characteristic of Muscle Fibers
• Characteristic of Muscle Fibers :
Extensibility

Elasticity

Irritability

Ability to generate forces

Characteristic of Muscle Fibers
Extensibility & Elasticity

• Extensibility Is the ability of muscles to

elongate or to be stretched.
• Elasticity is the ability of muscles to return to
its normal length after being elongated or
stretched.
• Normal resting length.
• This elasticity involve 2 components :
• Parallel Elastic Component (PEC)
• Serial Elastic Component (SEC).
Characteristic of Muscle Fibers
Irritability & Tension Generating Ability

• Irritability : Ability to respond a stimulus.

• When activated by stimulus, muscle respond this
stimulus by generates a tension.
• This tension generating ability of muscle are called
contraction.
Muscle & Tendon : Generation of Force
Passive Length-Tension Curve
• Muscle fibers are supported by noncontractile
connective tissue.
• Describe as : Series Elastic Component (SEC) &
Parallel Elastic Component (PEC).

PEC e.g :
Extracellular
SEC e.g :
connective
Tendon tissue
(perimysium)
 Muscle & Tendon : Generation of Force
Passive Length-Tension Curve

FIGURE 3-4. A highly diagrammatic model of a whole muscle attaching between two bones, depicting noncontractile elements and
contractile elements. Series elastic components (aligned in series with the contractile components) are illustrated by the tendon and
the structural protein titin, shown within the sarcomere. The parallel elastic components (aligned in parallel with the contractile
components) are represented by extracellular connective tissues (such as perimysium) and other structural proteins located
throughout the muscle.
Muscle & Tendon : Generation of Force
Passive Length-Tension Curve

FIGURE 3-5. A generalized passive

length-tension curve is shown. As a
muscle is progressively stretched,
the tissue is slack during the
muscle’s initial shortened length
until it reaches a critical length at
which it begins to generate passive
tension. Beyond this critical length,
the tension builds as an
exponential function.
Muscle & Tendon : Generation of Force
Active Length-Tension Curve

• Produced by an activated muscle fiber.

• Stimulated by nervous system.

• Muscle fibers composition:

Myofilament
Myofilament
Myofibril Actin
Myofilament
Muscle Myofibril Myofilament Myosin
FIbers Myofilament
Myofibril
Myofilament
Myofibril
Muscle & Tendon : Generation of Force
Active Length-Tension Curve Sarcomere
Muscle & Tendon : Generation of Force
Active Length-Tension Curve
Muscle & Tendon : Generation of Force
Active Length-Tension Curve
Muscle & Tendon : Generation of Force
Active Length-Tension Curve

• Sarcomere is the fundamental active force

generator within the muscle fiber.
• The process is called sliding filament hypothesis.
• Actin filaments slide past myosin filaments
• Approximation of Z disc and narrowing of H-
band.
• Result in progressive overlap of actin and
myosin filament.
• Produce shortening of each sarcomere.
• Each myosin head attaches to an adjacent
actin filament, forming a crossbridge.
Muscle & Tendon : Generation of Force
Active Length-Tension Curve

• FIGURE 3-9. The sliding

filament action showing
myosin heads attaching and
then releasing from the
actin filament. This process
is known as crossbridge
cycling. Contractile force is
generated during the power
stroke of each crossbridge
cycle.
Muscle & Tendon : Generation of Force
Active Length-Tension Curve

• The amount of active force depends

of the length of muscle fiber.
• A change if fiber length alters the
amount of overlap between actin
and myosin.
• Ideal resting length : is the length
that allows the greatest number of
crossbridges.
• As the sarcomere is lengthened or
shortened from its resting length,
number of potential crossbridges
decreases.
Muscle & Tendon : Generation of Force
Total Length-Tension Curve
• Below Active Resting-Length
(a) : active force dominates
the force-generating capability
of the muscle.
• Beyond Resting-Length (b) :
passive tension begins to
contribute, active tension
slowly decreased.
• As the muscle fiber is further
stretched (c), passive tension
dominates the curve so that
connective tissues are under
near-maximal stress.
Muscle as a Skeletal Mover :
Force Modulation
Chap 3. Muscle : the Primary Stabilizer and Mover of the
Skeletal System
Muscle as a Skeletal Mover : Force
Modulation
• Muscle generate
concentric, eccentric,
and isometric
activation.
• During concentric and
eccentric activation :
there’re inverse
relationship between
velocity and load.
Force Velocity Curve
• During concentric activation, the amount of muscle
force produced is inversely proportional to the
velocity of muscle shortening.
• Higher velocities of contraction, the number of
attached crossbridges is less than when the muscle
is contracting slowly.
• At a contraction velocity of zero (isometric), a
maximum number of attached crossbridges exist.
For this reason, a muscle produces greater force
isometrically than at any speed of shortening.
Force Velocity Curve

FIGURE 3-15. Theoretic

relationship between force and
velocity of muscle shortening
or lengthening during maximal-
effort muscle activation.
Concentric (muscle-shortening)
activation is shown on the
right, and eccentric (muscle-
lengthening) activation on the
left. Isometric activation occurs
at a velocity of zero.
Force Velocity Curve
• In Eccentric activation : a greater average force
produced per crossbridge.
• External load is higher than the internal forces
generated by the muscle.

• Thus :

Eccentric > Isometric > Concentric

Activating Muscle Via Nervous System
• Muscle is excited by alpha motor neuron in anterior
horn cell (AHC).
• Single alpha motor neuron with its entire family of
innervated muscle fibers is called a motor unit.
• Very small forces involving only a few motor units
• Very large forces involving most of the motor units
within the muscle.
Activating Muscle Via Nervous System

FIGURE 3-18. A motor unit consists of the (alpha)

motor neuron and the muscle fibers it innervates.
Activating Muscle Via Nervous System
Recruitment
• Motor unit may innervate 5 to 2000 muscle fibers.
• Muscles that require fine motor control and
generate relatively low forces  smaller-sized
motor units (low-innervation ratio)
• Muscles used to control less-refined movements
(larger forces)  larger-sized motor units (high-
innervation ration)
Activating Muscle Via Nervous System
Type of Muscle Fibers
• Type of muscle fibers can be divided based on
different characteristic they have.
• Based on histochemical profile, muscle fibers
devided into :
• Slow Oxidative Glycolytic
• Fast Oxidative Glycolytic (FOG)
• Fast Glycolytic (FG)
 Activating Muscle Via Nervous System
Type of Muscle Fibers
Characteristic Type I Type IIa Type IIb
SO FOG FG
S FR FF
Contraction Velocity Slow Fast Fast
Fatigability Low Moderate Fast
Diameter Small Medium Large
ATPase Concentration Low High High
Mitochondria Concentration High High Low
Glycolytic Enzyme Low Moderate High
Concentration
Activating Muscle Via Nervous System
Type of Muscle Fibers
The smaller (slower) motor units are recruited early during a movement
and generate relatively low muscle forces that can be sustained over a
relatively long time.

This fibers are ideal for the control of fine or smoothly graded low-
intensity contractions.

Larger (faster) motor units are recruited after the smaller motor
units, and add successively greater forces of shorter duration.

Through this spectrum, the nervous system is able to activate

muscle fibers that sustain stable postures over a long period of time
and, when needed, produce large, short-duration bursts of force for
more impulsive movements.
Changes in Muscle
Chap 3. Muscle : the Primary Stabilizer and Mover of the
Skeletal System
Changes in Muscle
Strength Training
• Repeated activation of muscle with progressively
greater resistance  increase strength and
hypertrophy.
• 1 Repetition Maximum (1 RM)
• Increase in muscle strength depends on the type of
exercises.
• High Resistance Training & Low
Resistance Training.
• Hypertrophy is more notable in Type II muscle
fibers
Changes in Muscle
Strength Training
• Causes of Increased Strength :

Adaptation of nervous system

Hypertrophy of Muscle Fibers

Hyperplasia Muscle Cells

Changes in Muscle
Reduced Use
• Immobilization lead to Atrophy  marked reduced
in strength.
• Loss in strength occur up to 3% to 6% per day in the
first week.
• 10 days of immobilization,  up to a 40% decrease
of initial 1 RM strength.
• Immobilization also leads to reduced protein
synthesis especially in ST fibers.
Changes in Muscle
Reduced Use
• Loss of strength is greatest when muscle is
maintained in shortened position.
• Antigravity and single joint muscle show more rapid
atrophy than any other muscles.
• E.g : soleus, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius,
and multifidus.
Changes in Muscle
Advanced Age
• Reaching an advanced age is associated with
reduced strength, power, and speed of muscle
contraction.
• Healthy aged persons  10% per decade decline in
peak strength after 60 years of age.
• More rapid decline after 75 years of age.
• Loss of strength more pronounced in the lower
limb (quadriceps).
Changes in Muscle
Advanced Age
• Senile Sarcopneia : loss muscle tissue w/ age.
• Normal biologic process of aging.
• Reduction number of muscle fibers & decrease size
of fibers.
Changes in Muscle
Advanced Age

FIGURE 3-23. Computed tomographic image showing a cross-section of the muscles of the
mid-thigh in A, a healthy 28-year-old woman and B, a healthy but sedentary 80-year-old
woman. The image of the older woman’s thigh shows comparably less muscle
mass and more intramuscular connective tissue.
Thank You
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti, Om