Interactions of Skeletal Muscles

This photo shows a man executing a complicated yoga pose.

Figure 6.1. A Body in Motion
The muscular system allows us to move, flex and contort our bodies. Practicing yoga, as pictured here, is a good example of the voluntary use of the muscular system. (credit: Dmitry Yanchylenko)
 

Introduction

Think about the things that you do each day—talking, walking, sitting, standing, and running—all of these activities require movement of particular skeletal muscles. Skeletal muscles are even used during sleep. The diaphragm is a sheet of skeletal muscle that has to contract and relax for you to breathe day and night. If you recall from your study of the skeletal system and joints, body movement occurs around the joints in the body. The focus of this chapter is on skeletal muscle organization. The system to name skeletal muscles will be explained; in some cases, the muscle is named by its shape, and in other cases it is named by its location or attachments to the skeleton. If you understand the meaning of the name of the muscle, often it will help you remember its location and/or what it does. This chapter also will describe how skeletal muscles are arranged to accomplish movement, and how other muscles may assist, or be arranged on the skeleton to resist or carry out the opposite movement. The actions of the skeletal muscles will be covered in a regional manner, working from the head down to the toes.

Interactions of Skeletal Muscles, Their Fascicle Arrangement, and Their Lever Systems

To move the skeleton, the tension created by the contraction of the fibers in most skeletal muscles is transferred to the tendons. The tendons are strong bands of dense, regular connective tissue that connect muscles to bones. The bone connection is why this muscle tissue is called skeletal muscle.

Interactions of Skeletal Muscles in the Body

To pull on a bone, that is, to change the angle at its synovial joint, which essentially moves the skeleton, a skeletal muscle must also be attached to a fixed part of the skeleton. The moveable end of the muscle that attaches to the bone being pulled is called the muscle’s insertion, and the end of the muscle attached to a fixed (stabilized) bone is called the origin. During forearm flexion—bending the elbow—the brachioradialis assists the brachialis.

Although a number of muscles may be involved in an action, the principal muscle involved is called the prime mover, or agonist. To lift a cup, a muscle called the biceps brachii is actually the prime mover; however, because it can be assisted by the brachialis, the brachialis is called a synergist in this action (Figure 6.2). A synergist can also be a fixator that stabilizes the bone that is the attachment for the prime mover’s origin.

This diagram shows two separate hands holding a glass of liquid. The biceps muscles are highlighted in pink.
Figure 6.2. Prime Movers and Synergists
The biceps brachii flex the lower arm. The brachoradialis, in the forearm, and brachialis, located deep to the biceps in the upper arm, are both synergists that aid in this motion.
 

A muscle with the opposite action of the prime mover is called an antagonist. Antagonists play two important roles in muscle function: (1) they maintain body or limb position, such as holding the arm out or standing erect; and (2) they control rapid movement, as in shadow boxing without landing a punch or the ability to check the motion of a limb.

For example, to extend the knee, a group of four muscles called the quadriceps femoris in the anterior compartment of the thigh are activated (and would be called the agonists of knee extension). However, to flex the knee joint, an opposite or antagonistic set of muscles called the hamstrings is activated.

As you can see, these terms would also be reversed for the opposing action. If you consider the first action as the knee bending, the hamstrings would be called the agonists and the quadriceps femoris would then be called the antagonists. See Table 6.1 for a list of some agonists and antagonists.

Table 6.1.
Agonist and Antagonist Skeletal Muscle Pairs
Agonist Antagonist Movement
Biceps brachii: in the anterior compartment of the arm Triceps brachii: in the posterior compartment of the arm The biceps brachii flexes the forearm, whereas the triceps brachii extends it.
Hamstrings: group of three muscles in the posterior compartment of the thigh Quadriceps femoris: group of four muscles in the anterior compartment of the thigh The hamstrings flex the leg, whereas the quadriceps femoris extend it.
Flexor digitorum superficialis and flexor digitorum profundus: in the anterior compartment of the forearm Extensor digitorum: in the posterior compartment of the forearm The flexor digitorum superficialis and flexor digitorum profundus flex the fingers and the hand at the wrist, whereas the extensor digitorum extends the fingers and the hand at the wrist.

There are also skeletal muscles that do not pull against the skeleton for movements. For example, there are the muscles that produce facial expressions. The insertions and origins of facial muscles are in the skin, so that certain individual muscles contract to form a smile or frown, form sounds or words, and raise the eyebrows. There also are skeletal muscles in the tongue, and the external urinary and anal sphincters that allow for voluntary regulation of urination and defecation, respectively. In addition, the diaphragm contracts and relaxes to change the volume of the pleural cavities but it does not move the skeleton to do this.

Everyday Connections: Exercise and Stretching

When exercising, it is important to first warm up the muscles. Stretching pulls on the muscle fibers and it also results in an increased blood flow to the muscles being worked. Without a proper warm-up, it is possible that you may either damage some of the muscle fibers or pull a tendon. A pulled tendon, regardless of location, results in pain, swelling, and diminished function; if it is moderate to severe, the injury could immobilize you for an extended period.

Recall the discussion about muscles crossing joints to create movement. Most of the joints you use during exercise are synovial joints, which have synovial fluid in the joint space between two bones. Exercise and stretching may also have a beneficial effect on synovial joints. Synovial fluid is a thin, but viscous film with the consistency of egg whites. When you first get up and start moving, your joints feel stiff for a number of reasons. After proper stretching and warm-up, the synovial fluid may become less viscous, allowing for better joint function.

 

The Lever System of Muscle and Bone Interactions

Skeletal muscles do not work by themselves. Muscles are arranged in pairs based on their functions. For muscles attached to the bones of the skeleton, the connection determines the force, speed, and range of movement. These characteristics depend on each other and can explain the general organization of the muscular and skeletal systems.

The skeleton and muscles act together to move the body. Have you ever used the back of a hammer to remove a nail from wood? The handle acts as a lever and the head of the hammer acts as a fulcrum, the fixed point that the force is applied to when you pull back or push down on the handle. The effort applied to this system is the pulling or pushing on the handle to remove the nail, which is the load, or “resistance” to the movement of the handle in the system. Our musculoskeletal system works in a similar manner, with bones being stiff levers and the articular endings of the bones—encased in synovial joints—acting as fulcrums. The load would be an object being lifted or any resistance to a movement (your head is a load when you are lifting it), and the effort, or applied force, comes from contracting skeletal muscle.