Level 2 Anatomy and Physiology

Unit 2 – Muscles of the body

Lesson 2.8 – Characteristics and roles of muscles

Level 2 Anatomy and Physiology
Lesson 2.8 Characteristics and roles of muscles

Step 1 – Muscle characteristics Note: you can only complete this activity
online.

To become fit, do you think it is more important to train for:

a) Strength
b) Speed
c) Endurance

Feedback: You may well have answered this question by asking ‘fit for what?’
Fairly obviously, it depends what you want to achieve. A marathon runner would
place endurance at the top of his or her list. A sprinter might put emphasis on
speed, and a weight-lifter on strength. In many sports (for example high jumping,
pole-vaulting and shot put) a good combination of speed of contraction and
application of force is needed to achieve maximum power.

Step 2 – Muscle characteristics

Muscles are used for a variety of activities and they need to have, to a greater or
lesser extent:

Strength: contractile force to achieve strong movements

Speed: the ability to contract rapidly for fast movements
Endurance: to perform repeated contractions

Last but not least, muscles need to be kept in good tone.

Step 3 – Muscle characteristics

Different muscles of the body, and the same muscles in different individuals, vary
in the degree of force, speed and endurance they are able to produce. All three
characteristics will also vary in a particular muscle at different times, for example:

 The muscles of children develop as they grow up

 The muscles of people who neglect to take regular exercise will become
less fit - in all senses of the word

Step 4 - Strength

All muscles are able to contract with some force or tension, unless they are
completely paralysed. The contractile force (maximum force generated by a
muscle) of a muscle depends on:

(a) Its size, measured at its cross-sectional area - If you develop a muscle
until you double its cross-sectional area, the strength of your muscle will
approximately double. When you do this, the number of fibres doesn't
change, but the size of individual fibres increases.
(b) The proportion of different types of muscle fibres in the muscle
(c) The structure of the muscle (whether it is fusiform or penniform)

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Level 2 Anatomy and Physiology
Lesson 2.8 Characteristics and roles of muscles

(d) Neurological factors

(e) Co-ordination

Step 5 – Speed

Like contractile force, the speed at which muscles are able to contract varies
between different muscles in the body, and between the same muscles in different
individuals. Like contractile force, speed of contraction can be increased with
training.

Step 6 – Endurance

Muscles get tired through repeated use, and a measure of their endurance is their
ability to resist fatigue. The three factors that affect muscle endurance are:

 The strength of the muscle - the contractile force. Strong muscles are able
to repeat a particular action more times than weaker ones before becoming
tired
 How efficient the body's circulatory and respiratory systems are. Muscles
need a good supply of oxygen to be able to eliminate waste products
efficiently. Blood carries oxygen from the lungs to the muscles and then
carries carbon dioxide back to the lungs to repeat the process again.
 The nervous system's capacity to continue to provide sufficiently strong
stimuli. The nervous system may also become fatigued. If muscles receive
weaker impulses, they are unable to respond effectively

Step 7 – Tone

A small number of fibres in most muscles are contracting continuously. They do

this to maintain posture, and thereby enable a limb to resist being passively
stretched or elongated. This slight persistent contraction is called muscle tone.
Muscle tone is increased by regular exercise; well-toned muscles are firm and
slightly springy to the touch. This is because more fibres are continuously
contracted.

Step 8 – Muscle roles

A muscle is able to adopt one of five roles. It can change between these roles
instantly, and some muscles can function in all five roles at different times. The
roles are:

 Agonists
 Antagonists
 Fixators
 Neutralisers
 Synergists

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Level 2 Anatomy and Physiology
Lesson 2.8 Characteristics and roles of muscles

The particular role that a muscle takes on at any one time is determined by its
particular function at that time.

Step 9 – Agonists and antagonists

When acting as 'prime movers', muscles are said to be agonists, one whose
contraction is directly responsible for the movement of a part of the body.

An antagonist is a muscle which would oppose a movement if it contracted.

Therefore in order to permit a free movement, the antagonist must relax and
lengthen.

Note: The word agonist comes from the Greek, meaning 'combatant in the games'.
An antagonist is a rival.

Step 10 – Agonists and antagonists

Elbow flexion - The biceps muscle contracts and is an agonist. The triceps
muscle relaxes and is therefore an antagonist.

Elbow extension - The triceps contract and become an agonist. The biceps relax
and become an antagonist.

To summarise these actions, we can say that the biceps and triceps are
antagonistic to each other.

This grouping of co-ordinated and opposing agonistic and antagonistic muscles is

called reciprocal innervation. It is achieved by the nervous system. When one
muscle contracts, its opposing muscle or group of muscles relaxes to allow the
movement to take place.

Step 11 – The agonist role

In a particular joint, there may be several muscles acting as movers or agonists for
different movements of that joint, and several others acting as antagonists.

Some muscles cause movements in more than one joint. For instance, when you
contract your biceps, you may be bending your arm at the elbow (elbow flexion).

Alternatively, your movement may be shoulder flexion or lower-arm supination. In

each case your biceps are in an agonist role, but the resulting movement depends
on which other muscles are contracting and relaxing.

Raising the arm upward from the side of the body is shoulder flexion.

Step 12 – The agonist role

Agonist muscles may be prime movers or assistant movers:

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Level 2 Anatomy and Physiology
Lesson 2.8 Characteristics and roles of muscles

 A prime mover is a muscle whose main role is to bring about the particular
movement, or one that makes a significant contribution to the movement
 An assistant mover is a muscle aiding the movement, but which is only of
secondary importance in the movement

Example: in shoulder extension, the latissimus dorsi and teres major muscles are
the prime movers; the triceps muscle, together with others, is called upon to assist
the move when lifting a heavy load.

Most often, in a particular joint action there is more than one prime mover, and
frequently several assistant movers.

All the moveable joints have prime mover muscles, and most have assistant
movers.

Lowering the arm from shoulder height to the side of the body is shoulder
extension.

Step 13 – The agonist role

Muscle types antagonistic towards each other include:

 Extensors and flexors

 Abductors and adductors
 Medial rotators and lateral rotators

Antagonist muscles do not necessarily relax completely. They need to undergo

just the right amount of controlled relaxation to permit smooth and efficient
movement of the joint.

Lowering the arm from shoulder height to the side of the body is shoulder
extension.

Step 14 – Fixator

A fixator is a muscle which contracts to prevent unwanted movement. There are

two types of fixators:

 Stabilisers - contract to prevent unwanted movement that may be caused

by the active contraction of another muscle
 Supporters - contract to prevent movement that would occur due to an
external force such as gravity

Step 15 – Activity Note: you can only complete this activity online

Question: When you do floor push-ups, what role are your abdominal muscles
playing - agonist, antagonist or fixator?

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Level 2 Anatomy and Physiology
Lesson 2.8 Characteristics and roles of muscles

 Agonist
 Antagonist
 Fixator

Feedback: During floor push-ups, your abdominal muscles only need to contract
enough to hold your body straight: they aren’t required to bow your body at the
waist, and they aren’t taking part in your body movement. They are therefore
acting as fixator muscles.

Step 16 – Activity

Muscles help to stabilise joints, as well as body parts. Muscles whose tendons
cross over a joint contribute a great deal to its stability, and so help to prevent
injuries to the joint.

Question: Apart from muscles, what other kinds of tissue serve to stabilise joints?

Feedback: Ligaments, which are short cord-like bands of white fibrous connective
tissue, help to give the joint stability. Of course, bones themselves act in a
stabilising role too.

Step 17 – Neutralisers

A neutraliser is a muscle or group of muscles that contract to prevent the

unwanted action of another muscle, whilst permitting the desired action of that
muscle.

In many body movements, co-ordinated contractions of muscles are required.

When this is done, one set of muscles is said to neutralise part of the functions of
another set.

Try to think of a body movement in which two muscles neutralise each other's
actions, and so bring about a co-ordinated movement.

There are a number of examples that you may have suggested.

One is in the adduction of the shoulder. The pectorals (pectoralis major) is used to
flex the shoulder and the 'lats' (latissimus dorsi) to extend it. When these two
muscles work together to neutralise each other's actions, the result is adduction.

Another example you might have suggested is that of the sit-up exercise, in which
the right and left external oblique muscles (the muscles on the side of the trunk)
take part. If the right external oblique muscle is contracted singly, it would flex the
trunk laterally to the right and rotate it to the left. Similarly, the left external oblique
muscle would, on its own, flex the trunk laterally to the left and rotate it to the right.
In sit-ups all we need is trunk flexion, and the right and left external oblique
muscles have to neutralise each other's actions to allow the upper body to bend
forward.

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Level 2 Anatomy and Physiology
Lesson 2.8 Characteristics and roles of muscles

Step 18 – Neutralisers

Sometimes a part of a muscle has to neutralise another part of the same muscle.
An example of this is the deltoid muscle, when it contracts to abduct the shoulder.

The front (anterior) part of the deltoid is used for horizontal flexion, and to rotate
the humerus inwardly; the back (posterior) part also causes horizontal extension
and acts to rotate it outwardly. When pure abduction is required, the horizontal
extension and flexion movements, and the inward and outward rotations are
neutralised.

It is in the control and accuracy of movements that neutralising muscles are most
effective. In the sport of bowls, the underarm action at the shoulder joint when
bowling a wood is mainly a flexion movement. But, at the same time, abductors
and adductors must balance any tendency for the arm to move left or right as it
goes forward.

Step 19 – Synergists
Synergists are muscles that contract to
assist with a movement, by making the
actions of the agonist stronger. An
example of this is in flexion of the
elbow, where the biceps brachii is the
agonist and the brachialis works as a
synergist to make the action stronger.

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Level 2 Anatomy and Physiology
Lesson 2.8 Characteristics and roles of muscles

Step 20 – Activity Note: this activity can only be completed online. Drop down
boxes appear with various options and you must choose the correct options to
complete the text.

Name the correct role of the muscles in each of the sentences below.

__________________ is a muscle that contracts to prevent an unwanted

movement.

__________________ is a muscle that contracts to prevent an unwanted action of

another muscle, whilst permitting the desired action of that muscle.

__________________ is a muscle that contracts to assist with a movement by

making the actions of the agonist stronger.

__________________ is a muscle that relaxes and lengthens to allow a body

movement to take place.

__________________ is a muscle whose contraction is directly responsible for a

body movement.

Step 21 – Summary

Muscles are used for a variety of activities and they need to have, to a greater or
lesser extent:

 Strength: contractile force, to achieve strong movements

 Speed: the ability to contract rapidly for fast movements
 Endurance: to perform repeated contractions
 Tone: firmness and 'readiness'

Different muscles of the body, and the same muscles in different individuals, vary
in the degree of force, speed and endurance they are able to produce. All three
characteristics will also vary in a particular muscle at different times.

The contractile force of a muscle depends on its size, the proportion of different
types of muscle fibres, its structure, neurological factors and co-ordination.

Like contractile force, speed of contraction can be increased with training.

The three factors that affect muscle endurance are the strength of the muscle, how
efficient the body's circulatory and respiratory systems are and the nervous
system's capacity to continue to provide sufficiently strong stimuli.

A muscle is able to adopt one of five roles. It can change between these roles
instantly, and some muscles can function in all five roles at different times. The
roles are agonist, antagonist, fixator, neutraliser and synergist.

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Level 2 Anatomy and Physiology
Lesson 2.8 Characteristics and roles of muscles

Step 22 – Summary

When acting as 'movers', muscles are said to be agonists. So an agonist muscle is

one whose contraction is directly responsible for the movement of a part of the
body. Agonist muscles may be prime movers or assistant movers. An antagonist
muscle does the opposite to an agonist - it relaxes to allow a movement to occur
and would oppose the movement of the agonist if it contracted.

A fixator is a muscle that contracts to prevent unwanted movement. There are two
types; stabilisers which prevent unwanted movement that may be caused by the
contraction of another muscle and supporters which prevent unwanted movement
caused by an external force, such as gravity.

When a muscle acts the role of neutraliser, it contracts to prevent an unwanted

action of another muscle, whilst permitting the desired action of that muscle.

A synergist is a muscle that contracts to assist with a movement and makes the
action of the agonist stronger.

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