"Hence when you stretch, the muscle fiber is pulled out to its full length sarcomere by sarcomere, and then the connective tissue take up the remaining slack. When this occurs, it helps to realign any disorganized fibers in the direction of the tension. "
I think that this really shows the importance of stretching. Stretching can be used to help bring scarred tissue back to health, since one of the characteristics of scarred tissue is the fact that it is not aligned with the tissue around it. The connective tissue and muscle fibers work together to make sure that the muscle is stretched as far as it can, and that helps increase the mobility of the muscles when they go back to that stretching position in a workout or an exercise. It would help lengthen your muscles to their full capacity, since your muscles are longest when they are stretched out and when the fibers are as far as they can go.
"Another reason for holding a stretch for a prolonged period of time is to allow this lengthening reaction to occur, thus helping the stretched muscle to relax. It is easier to stretch, or lengthen, a muscles when it is not trying to contract."
This shows the importance of the golgi tendon organ in the body. Because of its signaling capabilities to the spinal cord, it is able to overcome the signaling of the muscles to tell the muscles to contract. The basic function of the organ is to help protect the muscles, tendons, and ligaments from injury. The tendon records the changes in tension, and the rate of change of that tension, and through the spine, conveys that information to the body. When the tension exceeds a certain threshold, it triggers a lengthening reaction in the muscles.
"Only consummate professional athletes and dancers at the top of their sport or art are believed to actually possess this level of muscular control."
It shows how extensive the training that the athletes/performers go through to get to the level that they are at. They go through such intensive training that the stretch reflex of the muscles has little or even no reflex contraction in response to a sudden stretch. This comes at a high cost though, it provides a high risk of injury if used incorrectly.
This article re-emphasizes what we've been learning about muscles and their roles in the body. It talks about the myosin and actin filaments that work to pull the muscle to its full length. It also discusses the impact that stretching has on the muscles and these filaments, and how stretching can actually be used to realign these filaments, and as a result, help realign misaligned scar tissue. It was also interesting to see how people can actually stretch to their full capacity and bypass natural safeguards to lengthen their muscles to the fullest extent.
No comments:
Post a Comment