Main Ideas Definitions

(Pg 18) Musculoskeletal system is made up of: - Ligaments – connect bones to other bones
- Skeletal System (Bones & Joints) - Cartilage – provides a protective shock absorbing gel between the
- Skeletal / Voluntary muscle System (Muscles) joints
- Tendons – connect the muscles to the bones
And
Ligaments, Cartilage & Tendons Anatomical Terms (Location of Body Parts)
All work together to: - Superior - Closer to the head
- Protect the vital organs & provide upright support - Inferior - Closer to the feet
- Storage of Fats, fuels & minerals - Anterior - Ventral - Towards the front of the body
- leverage - allows movement to occur - Posterior - Dorsal - Towards the back of the body
- blood cell production - Medial - Towards the imaginary midline of the body
- Lateral - Away from the imaginary midline of the body
- Proximal - Closer to its attachment point
- Distal - Further away from the point of attachment
- Left - Towards the left side of the body
- Right - Towards the right side of the body
- Superficial - Closer to the surface of the body
- Deep - Further from the surface of the body
- Palmar - Palm side of the hand
- Plantar - Sole side of the foot

(Pg 19-20) Planes of Movement: - Median - Sagittal - Into left and right sections
- Imaginary Sections of the body used to split it into - Horizontal - Transverse - Into superior & inferior sections
- Frontal - Coronal - Divides the body into anterior and posterior
front & back, left & right and top and bottom parts
sections.
- Sagittal, frontal, and transverse.

(Pg 20-22) Bones of the Human Body: - Axial Skeleton - Main support for the body, includes Skull, Vertebral
- 206 Bones column and Rib cage
- Appendicular - Made up of limb bones and girdles which connect onto
- Axial (80 Bones) and Appendicular Skeletons (126
Skeleton the axial skeleton
Bones) - groups of muscles that run between the ribs, and help
- Intercostal muscles
form and move the chest wall. Mainly involved in the
mechanical aspect of breathing

(Pg 21) Vertebral Column: - Cervical Vertebrae – Makes up the neck. 7 bones
- Involved in 95% of the movements you make - Thoracic Vertebrae – The Chest. 12 bones. Protective shield for heart & lungs
- Lumbar Vertebrae - Lower Back. 5 bones. High weight carrying capacity
- Comprises 33 bones
- Sacrum - Fused to the pelvis. 5 bones. Distribute weight of upper
- Five main sections – Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar, body
Sacrum & Coccyx. - Coccyx - Tail bone. 4 bones at base of the vertebral column

(Pg 22-27) Joints: - Joint (Articulating) - where 2 or more bones meet

- Muscles are attached to Bones. - Fixed or Fibrous - No Movement eg: Skull, Pelvis
- Muscles contract & pull on bones & movement occurs. - Cartilaginous - Slight Movement eg: Ribs
- Synovial Joints - Free Movement eg: Hip and Knee joints
- 3 main categories of joints depending on the movement
they allow, Fixed or Fibrous, Cartilaginous and Synovial.

(Pg 22-23) Synovial Joints: - Synovial capsule – made up of collagenous material that surrounds the joint
- Allow the greatest amount of movement - Synovial membrane - secretes lubricating fluid called synovial fluid
- Uniaxial Joint – a joint that allows movement only in one plane such as
- Contains
back & force. Eg: Elbow
1. a synovial capsule - Made up of collagenous material – A joint that allows movement on two planes such as
- Biaxial Joint
that surrounds the entire joint the wrist, from left to right & up & down.
2. Synovial membrane - secretes lubricating fluid called - Pivot - uniaxial joint that only allows rotation/atlanto-axis in neck
synovial fluid - Ball & Socket - eg: Shoulder joint
- 6 types of synovial joints - classified according to their - Hinge - eg: Elbow joint
shape and the movement they allow: - Saddle - eg: Carpo-metacarpal joint of thumb
Pivot, Ball & Socket, Hinge, Saddle, Condyloid & - eg: Wrist
- Condyloid
Gliding - Flat bones glide past each other - eg: carpals
- Gliding

(Pg 24-26) Joint Movements: - Flexion – The angle between the articulating bones is decreased.
- Muscles receive messages from the brain which then - Flexors - Muscles responsible for flexion.
contracts to pull on bones and create movement.
- Extension – The angle of the joint is increased.
- Types of movements: - Extensors – Muscles responsible for Extension.
A. Flexion & Extension
- Medium plane on a horizontal axis - Abduction - Movement of body part away from imaginary midline of
body.
- eg: extend an arm out – Flexion occurs at the Elbow
- Adduction - Movement of body part towards the imaginary midline of
Joint. the body.
B. Abduction & Adduction
- Occurs in the frontal or horizonal Planes - Rotation - Bone turns on its own axis within a joint
- eg: raising the arm (abduction) & lowering the arm - Circumduction – limb moves in a circular fashion at the ball & socket
(adduction) joints
- Fingers & Arms - Supination
C. Rotation - Pronation - Forearm is rotated to turn palm up.
- Rotates towards the body’s midline – medial or internal - Forearm is rotated to turn palm down.
- Dorsiflexion
- Rotates away from the body’s midline – lateral or
– Occurs at the Ankle when toes are pointing towards the
external - Plantarflexion Tibia and are higher than the heel.
- eg: rotation of the arm - Occurs at the Ankle when toes are pointing down and the
D. Circumduction heel is raised.
- Occurs in the medial or frontal Planes. - Inversion
- eg: wrist – Sole of the foot is turned inwards towards the imaginary
E. Supination & Pronation - Eversion midline of the body
- Radius/Ulna are parallel when the palm is up and are - Sole of the foot is turned outwards towards the imaginary
crossed when the palm is face down. midline of the body
F. Dorsiflexion & Plantarflexion
- Occurs in the median plan about a horizontal axis
G. Inversion and Eversion.
- Occurs in the Frontal Plane.

(Pg 27-31) Muscles - Contraction – Any movement that results in tension developing in a
- Exert force on bones through tendons to enable muscle
- Relaxation – No tension in a muscle
movement
- More than 666 muscles in the body
- Skeletal – Muscles attached to the bones that make up the
- Capable of only 2 actions each
skeleton & are under your direct control. Striped or
- Contraction & Relaxation Voluntary
- 3 types of muscles – Skeletal, Smooth & Cardiac - Smooth – Found in blood vessels and walls of the intestines.
Involuntary and not under your control. Made up of
- Provide support and allow us to remain upright Spindle Cells
- Muscles in the leg and torso contract isometrically - Cardiac – Make up the walls of the heart. Involuntary and have a
stripped appearance
- Produce heat when energy is produced from foods or
stored fuels. - Isometrically – A muscle contraction where there is no change in the
- Skeletal muscles contract involuntarily when it’s cold muscle length
to release stored heat and maintain core temperature –
known as shivering. - Muscle Belly – The main body of a muscle

- Attached to bones by tendons - Origin - The site where a muscle is attached to a stable bone
- To move a bone, the muscle must cross over a joint which the muscle can pull against.
- Points of attachment of a muscle to the bone are the - Insertion - The site where a muscle is attached to a bone that is
origin & insertion pulled by the action of the muscle.
- Never work in isolation
- Agonist - The muscle primarily responsible for movement
- Antagonists - The muscle that relaxes the agonist contracts to allow
- Roles of muscles change depending on the muscular
action required. ease of movement & minimise the risk of injury.

- Reciprocal - When muscles on one side of the bone or joint relax to

- Muscles act in opposition to each other are stimulated Inhibition accommodate contraction on the other side of the bone
at the same time, a muscle tear can result.
or joint.
Eg: In AFL when the quadriceps & weaker hamstrings
contract at the same time – the weaker muscles tear - Fixator Muscles - Stabilisers

- Fixator muscles hold a body part immobile while - Stabilisers - muscles that stabilise one part of the body whilst another
another body part is moving. Contraction is isometric part is moving. Eg: Abdominal muscles act to stabilise the
spine.

(Pg 31) Muscle Fibres - Fascicles - Bundles of fibres that make up skeletal muscle.
- All Skeletal muscle is made up of fascicles
- Fascicle arrangements are a major contributor to
muscle force & speed
- Skeletal muscle fibres can shorten to about 70% of
resting length when they contract
- The greater the number of muscle fibres, the greater the
power.
- Hamstrings & dorsiflexors utilised for speed
- Quadriceps & plantarflexors utilised for force

(Pg 32-34) Muscle Shapes (Fibre Arrangement) - Circular - Fascicle pattern is circular with the fibres arranged in
- Five different muscle shapes concentric circles. Surround external body openings which
they close by contracting. Known as Sphincter
A. Circular eg: orbicularis muscle surrounds eyes
B. Convergent eg: pectoralis muscle in the anterior - Fascicles converge towards a single tendon. Muscle is
thorax - Convergent
triangular or fan shaped.
C. Parallel eg: Sartorius muscle of the thigh or the
biceps. - the length of the fascicles runs parallel to the long axis of
- Parallel
D. Pennate – Comes in three forms, unipennate, the muscle. Muscles are eighter straplike or spindle shaped
bipennate & multipennate. with an extended belly. Shorten the most when the contract
- Pennation allows more fibres to be packed into a but are not very powerful.
muscle
- Often defined as spindle shaped with an extended belly
E. Fusiform eg: biceps muscle - Fusiform wider than the origin & insertion.
Only a few fusiform muscles. Low force.
- Fibres are short and attach obliquely to a central
- Pennate tendon that runs the length of the muscle.

(Pg 35-36) Microscopic Structure of muscles - Motor Neurons - Deliver messages to muscles from the brain
- Brain sends messages to muscles via nerves
- Neuro- - System of nerves, bones & muscles within the body
- When muscle contracts, pulls bones closer together musculoskeletal
allowing movement eg: running, jumping - Connective tissue that covers each muscle fibre. Keeps
- Perimysium
the fascicles together.
- Muscle fibres are made up of myofibrils. - Surrounds the Fascicles
- Endomysium
- Myofibrils contain units known as Sarcomeres. - Connective tissue. Thickens at end of muscle and
- Epimysium becomes the Tendon.
- Sarcomeres lie end to end separated by Z Lines
- Myofibrils divided into myofilaments which attach to
the Z Line - Similar to the many wires in a telephone. Contains
- Myofibrils many units known as Sarcomeres
- Overlap of myofilaments give muscle its striped
- A thick Filament
appearance. - Myosin - A thin Filament
- Actin
- Muscle cell is surrounded by cell membrane - where oxygen combines with other substances to
(sarcolemma) which encases a gelatine-like substance - Mitochondria produce energy.
(sarcoplasm), which covers the actin & myosin - transports oxygen from the blood to the mitochondria
filaments. -Myoglobin
- Energy Production & Muscle Growth
- The sarcoplasm contains: - Enzymes
- Area of Myofibril containing Actin
Mitochondria, myoglobin, fat, glycogen, Enzymes
- L-Band
- The area in the centre of the Sarcomere containing
both Myosin & Actin.
- A-Band - The centre of the A-Band which is free of Myosin
- H-zone

(Pg 36) Kinetic Chain - Kinetic Chain - The relationship between your nerves, muscles &
- Bones are linked by a series of joints bones to cause movement.
- Open or Closed.
- Open – exercises are usually not weight bearing, allow
limb to move freely. Eg: Leg Curls
- Closed – exercises are weight bearing, allow multiple
joints to move. Eg: Squats & Push Ups

(Pg 36-37) Muscle Control - Dendrites - receptors from other neurons

- Brain initialises all actions - Axon - Conducts impulses away from the cell body
- Spine carries the messages via motor neurons
- Sensory neurons - Conduct impulses from the sense receptors to the
- Neurons contain: brain.

A Cell Body, Dendrites and an axon - Motor Neuron

- Conduct nerve impulses from the spinal cord or brain
- Nerve cells are placed end to end from the brain to away from the central nerves system and towards
thousands of points throughout the body. muscle.
- Synapses
- The junction between two neurons or between a
- Nerves connect to muscles at synapses on the
- Acetylcholine neuron and a muscle fibre.
myofibrils. - The chemical responsible for the transfer of impulses
- When a signal reaches the end of the neural line it from a neuron to another neuron
causes the release of chemicals known as
neurotransmitters. This repeats rapidly until the muscle - Acetylcholinesterase
- The enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine
cells are stimulated into action,
- Acetylcholine binds to the receptors which open
allowing sodium and potassium ions to flow in and out
of the muscle cells, producing local depolarisation.
- The depolarisation spreads, causing the release of
calcium and resulting in muscle contraction &
movement.
- When the enzyme becomes inactive, the muscles relax.

Study Example on Page 37.

(Pg 37) All or Nothing Principle - Threshold - The level that must be reached for a physiological
- When electrical impulses reach a threshold then all the effect to be released.
fibres will contract. If threshold is not reached, then there
is no contraction.
- on receipt of impulses, the ATP splits resulting in an
energy release allowing muscle contraction.

- Body has three energy systems:

ATP-PC, Anaerobic Glycolysis & Aerobic

(Pg 38) Regulation of Force - Maximum Tetanic - The maximum amount of force a muscle can generate
- Not all muscle fibres contract when there is a signal to Tension
do so
- Recruitment - Activation of additional motor units.
- The number of fibres recruited to contract is based on
strength of nerve impulses from the brain.
- The more fibres that are recruited, the more a muscle
contracts.

(Pg 38-39) Muscle fibre recruitment (Size Principle) - Preferential - Body recruits muscle fibres according to the intensity
- Nervous system varies the number of active motor units recruitment of the activity about to be undertaken
it stimulates.
- Motor units vary in the number of fibres they stimulate. - muscle fibres that perform explosive actions eg:
- Motor units vary in the type of fibres they stimulate. - Fast-twitch fibres
sprinting. Fatigues quickly.

- Fine movements controlled by smaller increments of - muscle fibres that contract slowly and help sustain
- Slow-twitch fibres
force / motor units. activity over a long period.
- Greater movements controlled by larger increments of
force / motor units

- Larger Motor Neurons have larger motor units which

need more stimulation to get moving.

- The greater the frequency of electrical stimulation at

the myofibrils, the greater the force generated by
muscles.

- The intensity of the task will determine which muscle

fibre type is recruited for the task

- Rapid Response = Fast Twitch Fibres

- Lower Intensity = Slow Twitch Fibres

(Pg 40-41) How muscle actions occur (sliding filament - Cross-bridges - Oar like projections from myosin filaments that help
theory) muscle cells attach to others.
- Theory of how muscles contract involves the
myofilaments sliding across each other.
- slides over the myosin
A. Brain sends message to muscles for contraction to
occur.
B. Acetylcholine actives the calcium ions to release
C. Ion’s go over the actin and myosin filaments
D. Simulates cross bridges to attach to the actin filaments
E. Cross Bridges shorten and pull the actin towards the
centre and the muscle contracts.
Unless stimulated again the cross bridges relax and the
muscle returns to original length.
- Length of filaments do not change
- Filaments slide over each other

Good Summary on Page 41 on Muscle Actions

(Pg 42-) Types of Muscle Actions - Isometric - Muscle contraction against a force with no significant
1. Isometric eg: holding a weight in a particular position movement occurring. Tension is produced.
- Isokinetic - Speed of movement is held constant regardless of level of
2. Isokinetic eg: Cybex or Biodex machines
force applied
3. Isoinertial - Maintains a constant inertia (mass). Strengthens the
- Concentric Contraction eg: - Isoinertial
muscle being targeted as well as the synergist muscles.
- Eccentric Contraction eg: Lowering into a chair.
- Muscle shortens during an effort. Most common type of
- Concentric Contraction
contraction in the muscles. Brings together the origin and
insertion of the contracting muscle.

- Lengthening contraction. Loads the muscle causing it to

- Eccentric Contraction physically lengthen as it attempts to hold the weight.

- Eccentric Muscular - Muscle lengthens whilst tension is developed.

Contraction
- Helper Muscles
- Synergist Muscle

(Pg 45-) Fibre Types – Fast & Slow Twitch - Biopsy - removal of tissue for laboratory analysis
- Muscles are made up of these two different types of
- Submaximal - less than maximum effort at less than 75% heart rate.
fibres.
1. Slow-Twtich – Red Fibres. - exercise taken to improve the efficiency of the body’s
- Suited for Endurance work ie: Triathalon. - Aerobic
cardiovascular system. With air.
- Known as Type l Fibres
2. Fast-Twitch – White Fibres. - Without air – Producing energy without oxygen
- Anaerobic
- Suited for short duration work ie:
- Mix of fibres varies per muscle and per person
- Mix of fibres based on genetics
- Slow -Twitch cannot be converted to Fast Twitch
Fibres
- Two types of Fast-Twitch Fibres:
Type A – Partially Aerobic
Type B – Purely anaerobic

(Pg 46) Slow-Twitch Characteristics - Triglyceride - Optimum state of fatty acids in order to enable storage
1. high capillary density – moving blood & oxygen to
working muscles
2. High Mitochondrial Density – Releasing large
amounts of energy

(Pg 46) Fast-Twitch Characteristics - phosphocreatine - rapidly mobilises high energy phosphates in skeletal
1. high phosphocreatine stores – quickest source of muscles
energy under aerobic conditions
- Glycogen - a glucose that serves as a form of fuel
2. High Glycogen Stores – preferred fuel during
maximum levels
3. High Glycolytic Enzymes – Speed up Glycogen
breakdown
(Pg 47) Factors Affecting Muscle Strength
1. Fibre Arrangement
2. Muscle Fibre Recruitment
3. Muscle Fibre Type
4. Speed of Contraction
5. Gender differences
6. Age differences