STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF

THE MUSCULOSKELETAL
SYSTEM
 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION

• Made up of the bones and joints, and skeletal muscles.

• Includes:
- ligaments: connect bones to other bones
- cartilage: provides a shock absorbing gel between joints
- tendons: connects muscles to bones
• Works together to perform the main functions of the skeletal system
- protection of vital organs
- support, allows us to stand and move without falling over
- storage of fats, minerals and fuels
- blood cell production
- leverage, allowing movements to occur
- mineral balance
ANATOMICAL TERMS
PLANES OF MOVEMENT
 TASK

• Write the anatomical terms and planes of movement definitions in your

textbook
• Join Quizlet [Link] join the Physical Education unit 1&2
classroom using this link [Link]
• Complete the anatomical terms and planes of movement set, go through the
learning and test sections
 BONES OF THE HUMAN BODY

• Made up of 206 bones

• In two sections, axial and appendicular skeletons
• Axial skeleton provides the main support for the body and protection of vital
organs
• The appendicular section is made up of the limb bones and their ‘girdles’ where
they connect to the axial skeleton
• When babies are born they have around 300 bones, some of these fuse together
throughout development to create the 206 bones that adults have
 TASK

• Colour in the skeleton, use different colours for the axial and appendicular
skeleton, also label the skeleton with the following bones. Glue into your
notebook.
Skull, mandible, sternum, rib (individual), rib cage, vertebral column, sacrum,
clavicle, scapula, humerus, pelvis (ilium, ischium, pubis), ulna, radius, carpals,
metacarpals, phalanges, femur, patella, tibia, fibula, tarsals, metatarsals,
phalanges
• Complete the human skeleton set on Quizlet
 THE VERTEBRAL COLUMN

• Is involved in more than 95% of the movements we make

• It is comprised of 33 bones, 24 are unfused and the other 9 are fused to make
the sacrum and coccyx
• Cervical vertebrae (7 unfused)
• Thoracic vertebrae (12 unfused)
• Lumbar vertebrae (5 unfused)
• The sacrum (5 fused)
• The coccyx (4 fused)
 THE VERTEBRAL COLUMN

• CTLSC
• Cervical vertebrae (C1-C7): 7 unfused bones make up the neck and are
responsible for supporting the head. The top bone is the atlas, and the second bone
is the axis, these allow your head to move up and down.
• Thoracic vertebrae (T1-T12): 12 unfused bones connect the rib cage to the
spinal column and form a protective shield for the heart and lungs.
• Lumbar vertebrae (L1-L5): 5 unfused bones which are the largest of the
vertebrae and have a high weight-carrying capacity.
• The sacrum: 5 fused vertebrae which form the sacrum, it is fused to the pelvis.
The sacrum and pelvis help to distribute the weight of the upper body.
• The coccyx: 4 fused bones often called the tail-bone. It’s main function is to
provide a site for muscles to attach, to allow us to produce a lot of our
movements.
 TASK

• Complete the vertebral column set on Quizlet

 JOINTS

• Joints are where two or more bones meet

• Some joints can be rigid and immovable, such as the bones in the skull, but
most are free-moving to allow for a wide range of movement and actions
• Joints are classified into three main categories, according to the amount of
movement that they allow:
• - fixed or fibrous
• - cartilaginous
• - synovial
 FIXED OR FIBROUS JOINTS

• Amount of movement: None

• Examples: Skull, pelvis, radioulnar and tibiofibular joints
 CARTILAGINOUS JOINTS

• Amount of movement: Slight

• Examples: Ribs attached to sternum, lumbar vertebrae
 SYNOVIAL JOINTS

• Most of the joints in the body are synovial joints

• All synovial joints have a synovial capsule made up of:
- collagenous material, surrounding the entire joint
- a synovial membrane on the inner layer of the capsule which produces a
lubricating fluid called synovial fluid
- hyaline cartilage which provides padding at the ends of the articulating bones
(articular cartilage)
A TYPICAL SYNOVIAL JOINT
 TYPES OF SYNOVIAL JOINTS

• There are 6 types of synovial joints, which are classified according to their
shape and the type of movement they allow
- Gliding joint (carpals)
- Condyloid joint (wrist)
- Pivot joint (atlanto-axis joint in neck)
- Saddle joint (carpo-metacarpal joint of thumb)
- Hinge joint (elbow)
- Ball and socket point (shoulder)
 TASK

• Complete the synovial joint set on Quizlet

TYPES OF JOINT MOVEMENTS
TYPES OF JOINT MOVEMENTS
 TASK

• Complete the joint movement set on Quizlet

• Complete the chapter check up questions on page 27 of the textbook
 MUSCLES

• Each muscle is only capable of two actions: contraction and relaxation

 TYPES OF MUSCLES

• Skeletal muscle: attached to bones, under direct control, voluntary, made up of

striped/striated cells
• Smooth muscles: blood vessels and walls of intestines, involuntary, made up
of spindle cells
• Cardiac muscles: walls of the heart, involuntary, striped appearance
 TASK

• Create your own Quizlet set about muscles. Include the different types of
muscles and the names of the muscles in our bodies.
• Complete other muscle sets on Quizlet
 MUSCLE ATTACHMENT

• Muscles are attached to the bones by tendons, which are generally at the end of the
muscle belly
• Ligaments attach one bone to another bone
• To move a bone, a muscle must cross over a joint
• One end of the muscle is attached to a bone on one side of the joint, while the other end is
attached to another bone on the other side of the joint
• The points of attachment for each muscle are known as the origin and insertion points
• The origin is the site where the muscle is attached to a stable bone which it can pull
against, the insertion occurs where the muscle attaches to a bone that is pulled by the
action of the muscle
 AGONISTS, ANTAGONISTS AND
STABILISERS (RECIPROCAL
INHIBITION)

• Muscles never work in isolation, they always work in a team to bring about
successful movement
• Example: bicep curl. The biceps brachii contracts and is responsible for flexing the
elbow, because it causes the movement, the biceps brachii is known as the prime
mover or the agonist. But to allow this to happen, the triceps must lengthen, and is
known as the antagonist, because the action is opposite to that of the agonist
• Reciprocal inhibition is the term used to explain how muscles work in ‘teams’ to
allow efficient movements to occur; it essentially describes how one muscle
contracts and its opposite relaxes to allow ease of movement and reduce the risk of
muscle tears
 TASK

• Complete the agonist and antagonist muscle movements set on Quizlet

 MUSCLE FIBRES

• All skeletal muscle is made up of fascicles (bundles of muscle fibres)

• Fascicles arrangements vary considerably, resulting in muscles with different
shapes and functional capabilities
• These arrangements are a major contributor to muscle force and speed
 MUSCLE SHAPES

• 5 different muscle shapes within the human body

- Circular
- Convergent
- Parallel
- Pennate
- Fusiform
 CIRCULAR

• Fibres are arranged in concentric rings

• These muscles surround external body openings, which the close by
contracting e.g. the mouth and eyes
 CONVERGENT

• These muscles have a broad origin, and the fascicles converge towards a single
tendon of insertion
• These muscles are triangular or fan-shaped, like the pectoralis major muscles
 PARALLEL

• The length of the fascicles runs parallel to the long axis of the muscle
• These muscles are either strap-like, such as the sartorius muscle of the thigh, or
spindle-shaped with an extended belly, such as the biceps brachii muscle of the
arm
• Some people classify spindle-shaped muscles into a separate class, fusiform
muscles
 PENNATE

• Fibres are short and they attach obliquely to a central tendon that runs the
length of the muscle
• They come in three forms
- Unipennate: the fascicles insert into only one side of the tendon, such as the
semimembranosis of the leg
- Bipennate: the fascicles insert into the tendon from opposite sides so the
muscle ‘grain’ resembles a feather, such as the rectus femoris of the quadriceps
- Multipennate: looks like many feathers side-by-side, ends all insert into one
large tendon, such as the deltoid muscle
 PENNATE AND MUSCLE CONTRACTION

• Pennation allows more fibres to be packed into a muscle, so the amount of force that can be generated also
increases by a proportional amount
• Muscle length and speed of contraction affect the ability of fusiform and pennate muscles to develop force
- E.g. The quadriceps and plantarflexors are able to develop high forces because of their low fibre
length to muscle length ratio, relatively large cross-sectional area and short fibres. The hamstrings and
dorsiflexors are utilised for speed due to their high fibre length ratios and long fibres
• The arrangement of a muscle’s fascicles determines its range of motion and power
• Skeletal muscle fibres may shorten to about 70% of their resting length when they contract, the longer the
muscle fibres are, and the more parallel they are to a muscles long axis, the more the muscle can shorten
• Muscles with parallel fascicles arrangements shorten the most, but are not usually very powerful
• Muscle power depends more on the total number of muscle fibres in the muscle, the greater the number of
muscle fibres, the greater the power
• The thicker bipennate and multipennate muscles, which pack the most fibres, shorten very little but are
extremely powerful
 FUSIFORM

• Sometimes included in the parallel muscle group, but are more spindle-shaped
• The muscle belly is wider than the origin and insertion
• The muscle fibres run in the same direction as the tendon
• There are only a few fusiform muscles, they produce low force but can shorten
over a large range
• Because they have long fibres, they cannot generate the high forces that pennate
muscles can with their shorter fibres and greater cross-sectional area. Yet, they can
generate greater contractile velocities
• E.g. biceps brachii, bicep femoris (hamstrings), rectus abdominus, tibialis anterior
 TASK

• Complete the muscle fibres set on Quizlet

• Complete the chapter check up questions on page 34 of the text book
 THE MICROSCOPIC STRUCTURE OF
MUSCLES

• The neuromusculoskeletal system is made up of motor neurons, muscles

and bones
• The muscle belly consists of thousands of muscle fibres known as
fascicles, these run side by side along the length of the muscle
• These fibres are encased in connective tissue called the perimysium, which
keeps the fascicles together
• The fascicles are then surrounded by the endomysium
• All of the bundles of fascicles are surrounded by the epimysium
• Near the end of the muscle, the epimysium thickens and becomes the
tendon

• Each muscle fibre is surrounded by the cell membrane (sarcolemma),

which encases a gelatin-like substance (sarcoplasm), which surrounds the
actin and myosin filaments
• The sarcoplasm contains: mitochondria, myoglobin, fat, glycogen, PC and
ATP, and enzymes
 MYOFIBRILS AND SARCOMERES

• Muscle fibres are made up of myofibrils

• Myofibrils are made up of many sarcomeres, which are arranged end to end along the whole length of the
myofibril
• The sarcomeres are separated by dark lines called Z-lines
• Myofibrils are made up of two myofilaments: actin (thin filament) and myosin (thick filament), the actin attach to
the Z-line
• Actin and myosin filaments take up different parts of the length of a sarcomere
• The light section, contains only the thin actin filaments, is the I-band
• The dark section where the actin and myosin overlap is known as the A-band
• In the middle of the A-band is a very small section where only the thick myosin filaments occur, this is the H-zone
• Thousands of these sarcomeres may exist along the length of a myofibril
MYOFIBRILS
 TASK

• Complete the muscle contraction set on Quizlet

 CONNECTING THE NERVES, MUSCLES
AND BONES

• Nerves, muscles and bones combine to form a kinetic chain

• The bones are like the links, and our joints are where these links join together
• Everything works together to produce movement. For example, when we perform a
bicep curl, it’s not only the bicep brachii muscle that moves, we use the nerves and other
muscles of our arm to produce elbow flexion
• This kinetic chain can be open or closed depending on the type of exercise being done:
- Open kinetic chain exercises are usually not weight-baring, and allow your limb to
move freely, with resistance being applied at the end. Such as a leg-curls on a machine.
- Closed kinetic chain exercises involve the movement of multiple joints, and are
weight-baring. Such as squats and push-ups.
 MUSCLE CONTROL

• The brain is responsible for initiating all actions, and the spinal cord carries all
messages
• Messages are sent as electrical impulses via motor neurons (nerve cells), which
stimulate muscular contraction and therefore movement
• Nerve cells or neurons are made up of:
- a cell body
- dendrites (receptors from other neurons or sense organs)
- an axon (conducts impulses away from the cell body)
 MUSCLE CONTROL

• Sensory neurons conduct impulses (messages) from the sense receptors to the brain
• Motor neurons carry impulses from the brain and central nervous system to
muscles
• Many nerve cells extend the length of a myofibril in the same way that many
sarcomeres do. They are placed end to end from the brain to the many thousands of
points around the body
• Neurons that are linked are known as neural chains
• One motor neuron only stimulates a small portion of a muscle, not the whole
muscle
SENSORY AND MOTOR NEURONS
 MOTOR UNIT

• The motor neuron and the muscle fibres it stimulates are together known as the motor unit
• One motor neuron may be responsible for stimulating one or two muscle fibres when precision
is required (eyes, fingers), in other parts of the body a motor neuron may stimulate thousands
of muscle fibres where gross movement occurs (quadriceps when kicking a ball)
• Nerves connect to muscles at the synapses of individual myofibrils, known as neuromuscular
junctions, however, there is no direct contact
• When the signal (action potential) reaches the end of the neural line, it causes the release of
chemicals known as neurotransmitters (acetylcholine), which travels across the synapse
between the neurons and continue the action potential in the next neuron
• This is repeated until the action potential rapidly and eventually travels across the synapse to
stimulate muscle cells into action
 MUSCLE MOVEMENT

• Acetylcholine diffuses across the synaptic cleft and binds to the acetylcholine receptors that
occur on the motor end plate
• The receptors also double up as ion channels, and when bound by acetylcholine, they open,
allowing sodium ions to flow in and potassium ions to flow out of the muscle cells
• Because of the electrolyte concentration differences across the plasma membrane, more
sodium moves in than potassium out, producing a local depolarization of the motor end plate
known as end-plate potential
• This spreads across the surface of the muscle fibre into transverse tubules, causing the release
of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, resulting in muscle contraction and movement
• Acetylcholine’s action ends when the enzyme acetylcholinesterase breaks it down and
becomes inactive, the muscle then relaxes
 THE ALL OR NOTHING PRINCIPLE

• Muscular movement is subject to the all or nothing principle

• When the electrical impulse reaches a certain threshold, all of the fibres of that
motor unit will contract at the same time and as forcefully as possible
• Until this threshold is reached, none of the fibres will contract
• Once the threshold is passed, the ATP stored in the muscle fibre will split, with
the energy released allowing muscle contraction to occur
• There is only a small amount of ATP stored in the muscle, so to maintain a
supply of ATP our bodies use three energy systems (ATP-PC, anaerobic
glycolysis and aerobic) to provide this ATP
 REGULATION OF FORCE

• Not all muscle fibres contract every time there is a signal to do so

• The number of fibres recruited to contract is controlled by the strength of the
nerve impulses coming from the brain
• The force of a muscle contraction can be increased by boosting the frequency
of action potentials to an individual fibre
• The force generated by a fibre only accounts for a fraction of the whole range
of force that a muscle can generate, the whole muscle can generate greater
force by increasing the number of individual fibres that contract, in a process
called recruitment
 MUSCLE FIBRE RECRUITMENT (SIZE
PRINCIPLE)

• The nervous system controls muscle forces by varying the number of active motor units it
stimulates
• Recruitment is the term used to describe the number of active motor units stimulated by the brain
• Motor units themselves vary in the number of fibres they stimulate and in the type of fibres they
stimulate within each muscle
• This enables fine movements to be controlled by the smaller increments of force generated by
smaller motor units, when greater force is required the larger increments come from larger motor
units
• The gradual recruitment of larger motor units is because larger motor units have larger motor
neurons, which require more stimulation to fire
• For example: a cricket player hitting a six would be using most, maybe all, of the motor units in
their arms. But if they were doing a minimal task such as a block, only a moderate number of
motor units would be stimulated
 PREFERENTIAL RECRUITMENT

• The intensity of the task will determine which muscle fibre type is
preferentially recruited for the task
• The body recruits fibres according to the activity demand, this is known as
preferential recruitment
• If an immediate and rapid response to a stimulus is required, then fast-twitch
fibres will be recruited first
• Slow-twitch fibres are preferentially recruited if the event is of lower intensity
 TASK

• [Link]
• Watch this video which discusses slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibres
 HOW MUSCLE ACTIONS OCCUR

The sliding filament theory

• Myofilaments slide across each other to allow muscles to contract, the actin slides over the
myosin
• The brain sends a message to muscles for contraction to occur, this is an electrical impulse that
travels along axons and reaches muscles at the synapses of individual myofibrils at the
neuromuscular junction. The acetylcholine activates the release of calcium ions stored within the
sarcoplasmic reticulum – over the actin and myosin filaments
• Cross-bridges on the myosin are stimulated by the release of calcium ions, and they reach out
and attach to the actin filaments
• The cross-bridges shorten and pull the actin filaments towards the center and the muscle
contracts
• Unless stimulated again, the cross-bridges relax as the calcium ions are drawn back into the
sarcoplasmic reticulum, and the muscle returns to its original length
• It is important to remember that the length of the filaments themselves don’t change, they are
sliding over each other
 TASK

• [Link]
• Watch this video which shows a clear representation of the sliding filament
theory to explain muscle movements
 MUSCLE ACTION SUMMARY

In resting muscle:
• There are few or no electrical impulses reaching the muscle
• There are calcium ions within the sarcoplasmic reticulum
• ATP is stored, not broken down
During a contraction:
• Nerve impulses travel along axons to the axon end plate
• Acetylcholine travels across the synaptic cleft to the myofibril
• Sarcoplasmic reticulum releases calcium ions
• Myosin cross-bridges attach to actin
• ATP is broken down and energy is released, causing cross-bridges to shorten
• Actin is pulled and slides over myosin and the muscle shortens or contracts
On relaxation:
• The nerve impulses stop
• Calcium ions are taken up by the sarcoplasmic reticulum
• Myosin cross-bridges are ‘broken’ down and actin returns to the resting state
• The muscle relaxes
When a muscle is relaxed, some cross-bridges are still in contact with actin, so the muscle is never truly relaxed but ready to quickly contract if
needed or allow posture to be maintained
 TASK

• Complete the chapter check up questions on page 42 of the text book

 TYPES OF MUSCLE ACTIONS

Isometric actions
• Involves a muscle contraction against a force with no significant movement occurring
• Tension is produced, but no joint movement or action takes place
• Muscle length remains unchanged as tension is developed
• Example: pushing or pulling against an immovable object, such as holding a contraction
when a bicep curl is being performed
• The disadvantage associated with isometric contractions is that they result in elevated
systolic blood pressure. The muscles contract around blood vessels and restrict blood
flow. The heart then needs to pump harder to force blood through to these restricted areas
 TYPES OF MUSCLE ACTIONS

Isokinetic actions
• The speed or velocity of movement is held constant regardless of the level of force
applied to the resistance
• There is constant resistance/force throughout the whole range of movement
• This usually occurs with the use of specialised resistance machines, which use
hydraulics to regulate the resistance, which matches any increases in contraction
speed
• Any force applied is matched by an equal reaction force supplied by the machine
• Example: Using hydraulic resistance equipment
 TYPES OF MUSCLE ACTIONS

Isoinertial actions
• Maintain a constant inertia (mass)
• A weight is placed on an arm or leg and it is put through a range of motion, the range of motion can change
direction but the force on the arm or leg doesn’t change
• The mass at the end of the arm or leg remains unchanged
• Example: leg curls performed with resistance, bicep curls performed with resistance
Isoinertial concentric
• The muscle shortens during an effort
• Example: during the upward phase of a bicep curl (during elbow flexion)
• Tension is developed and the muscle shortens to overcome an external force
Isoinertial eccentric
• The muscle lengthens during contraction
• Example: the downward phase of a bicep curl (during elbow extension)
• The muscle lengthens as tension increases, usually due to gravity-resisting movements
TYPES OF MUSCLE ACTIONS
Types of muscle contraction Action Sporting/training example

Isometric Muscle length remains unchanged as Pushing or pulling against an immovable

tension is developed object, such as holding a contraction
when a bicep curl is being performed

Isokinetic There is constant resistance/force Using hydraulic resistance equipment

throughout the whole range of movement

Isoinertial The mass at the end of the arm or leg Leg curls performed with resistance,
remains unchanged bicep curls performed with resistance

Isoinertial concentric Tension is developed and the muscle During the upward phase of a bicep curl
shortens to overcome an external force (during elbow flexion)

Isoinertial eccentric The muscle lengthens as tension The downward phase of a bicep curl
increases, usually due to gravity-resisting (during elbow extension)
movements
 TASK

• [Link]
• Watch this video which summarises the three types of contraction
 FIBRE TYPES: FAST AND SLOW
TWITCH

• Muscles are made up of two different types of fibres:

• Slow-twitch fibres: red fibres which are best suited to aerobic endurance work such as a
triathlon. Also known as Type 1 fibres.
• Fast-twitch fibres: white fibres where are best suited to short-duration, high-intensity anaerobic
work, such as the bursts of power and speed required to sprint. Also known as Type 2 fibres.
• Slow-twitch fibres contract slowly and are able to perform over extended periods of time,
producing low forces
• Fast-twitch fibres produce larger forces, but tire more rapidly
• The proportion of slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibres varies from muscle to muscle and from
person to person, although most people have roughly equal proportions of each
• Athletes with a predominance of one fibre type over another will tend to succeed in events
requiring that particular muscle fibre type (someone with predominately fast-twitch = good at
sprints, someone with predominately slow-twitch = good at endurance events)
 FIBRE TYPES: FAST AND SLOW
TWITCH

• Fast-twitch fibres are better suited to anaerobic conditions where performers

require speed, power and explosive efforts. These fibres tire quickly due to a
rapid build-up of metabolic by-products that cause fatigue, so can only be used
for a short amount of time
• Slow-twitch fibres contract slowly and repeatedly and are best suited to aerobic
conditions. They are slow to fatigue and are recruited for endurance-type
activities, or where submaximal efforts occur repeatedly over a long period of
time
 FIBRE TYPES

• Slow-twitch fibres cannot be converted to fast-twitch fibres

• Fast-twitch fibres cannot be converted to slow-twitch fibres, but some can take
on the slow-twitch fibre characteristics after aerobic and endurance training
• For this reason, fast-twitch fibres are further classified into:
• Fast-twitch type A fibres – partially aerobic
• Fast-twitch type B fibres – purely anaerobic
 TASK

• Complete the chapter check up questions on page 47 of the text book

 FACTORS AFFECTING MUSCLE
STRENGTH

• Fibre arrangement: multipennate muscles are stronger than bipennate and unipennate
muscles; fusiform muscles can develop the least strength
• Muscle fibre recruitment: when maximal force is required, the fibres in all motor units must
be recruited, an easy and small task requires only a couple
• Muscle fibre type: fast-twitch fibres are able to generate greater strength. Fast-twitch B fibres
are stronger, though fast-twitch A fibres have some aerobic qualities that can be developed
through aerobic training
• Gender differences: muscles of the same cross-sectional area in males and females are
equally strong. However, females’ muscles generally have smaller cross-sectional areas, and
so are about two-thirds as strong
• Age differences: muscles tend to be at their ‘strongest’ between the ages of 20 and 30
 TASK

• Complete the chapter review questions on page 50 of the text book

• Complete chapter 2 of the Nelson work book