Behavioral Properties of the

Chapter 6
Musculotendinous Unit
1) extensibility: ability to be stretched or to increase
in length

2) elasticity: ability to return to normal resting length

following a stretch

Biomechanics of Skeletal 3) irritability: ability to respond to a stimulus

Muscle 4) ability to develop tension: the contractile

component of muscle function

Behavioral Properties of the

Components of Elasticity
Musculotendinous Unit

3) irritability: ability to respond to a • parallel elastic component – passive

stimulus elasticity derived from muscle
membranes
4) ability to develop tension: the
contractile component of muscle
function • series elastic component – passive
elasticity derived from tendons when a
tensed muscle is stretched

Musculotendinous Unit Stretch-Shortening Cycle

From a mechanical
perspective, the
musculotendinous unit Parallel Elastic
behaves as a Component
contractile component Series Elastic
eccentric contraction (in which the
(muscle fibers) in Component muscle is actively stretched) followed
parallel with one
elastic component immediately by concentric contraction
(muscle membranes)
and in series with
another elastic
component (tendons). Contractile
Component

1
 Muscle Fiber Muscle Fibers
• some fibers run the entire length of a
muscle; others are shorter

• skeletal muscle fibers grow in both

length and diameter from birth
single muscle cell surrounded by a through adulthood
membrane called the sarcolemma
and containing specialized
cytoplasm called sarcoplasm • fiber diameter can be increased through
resistance training

Motor Unit Muscle Fiber Typing

Fast twitch (FT)
fibers both reach FT ST
peak tension and
relax more quickly

Twitch Tension
than slow twitch
(ST) fibers.

single motor neuron and all fibers it
innervates Peak tension is
typically greater for

considered the functional unit of the FT than for ST
neuromuscular system Time
fibers.

Skeletal Muscle Fiber Structural Organization of

Characteristics Skeletal Muscle
TYPE IIA
• parallel fiber arrangement: fibers are
Type I
Slow-Twitch
Fast-Twitch
Oxidative
Type IIB
Fast-Twitch
roughly parallel to the longitudinal
Oxidative Glycolytic Glycolytic axis of the muscle
CHARACTERISTIC (SO) (FOG) (FG)
Contraction Speed slow fast fast
Fatigue rate slow intermediate fast
Diameter small intermediate large • pennate fiber arrangement: short
ATPase concentration low high high
Mitochondrial high high low
fibers attach to one or more tendons
concentration within the muscle
Glycolytic enzyme low intermediate high
concentration

2
 Structural Organization of
Motor Unit Recruitment
Skeletal Muscle
• slow twitch (ST) fibers are easier to
activate than fast twitch (FT) fibers

• ST fibers are always recruited first

• increasing speed, force, or duration of

Parallel fiber arrangements Pennate fiber arrangements
movement involves progressive
recruitment of MUs with higher and higher
activation thresholds

Muscle Contraction Types Muscle Roles

Occur during muscle activation • agonist: acts to cause a movement

• antagonist: acts to slow or stop a

• concentric: involving shortening movement
• eccentric: involving lengthening • stabilizer: acts to stabilize a body part
• isometric: involving no change against some other force

• neutralizer: acts to eliminate an

unwanted action produced by an agonist

Biarticulate Disadvantages Active Insufficiency

• active insufficiency: failure to produce

force when slack

• passive insufficiency: restriction of

joint range of motion when fully stretched
failure to produce force when muscles are
slack (decreased ability to form a fist with
the wrist in flexion)

3
 Force-Velocity Curve
Passive Insufficiency

When resistance
(force) is negligible,
(Low resistance,
muscle contracts

Force
high contraction
with maximal velocity)
velocity.
restriction of joint range of motion when
muscles are fully stretched (decreased
Velocity
ROM for wrist extension with the fingers
extended)

Force-Velocity Curve Length-Tension Curve

isometric
As the load Tension present in a
maximum Total
increases, stretched muscle is the Tension
concentric sum of the active
contraction velocity Active
tension provided by the Tension
Force

Tension
slows to zero at muscle fibers and the
isometric passive tension provided Passive
maximum. by the tendons and Tension
membranes.
Velocity 50 100 150
Length (% of resting length)

Electromechanical Delay Muscular Strength

the amount of torque a muscle group

Myoelectric activity
can generate at a joint
Force

Stimulus Electromechanical delay

time between arrival of a neural stimulus

and tension development by the muscle

4
 Muscular Strength Factors Affecting Muscular
Strength
tension-generating capability of the muscle tissue

• muscle cross-sectional area

Ft Ft
• training state of muscle
•Moment Arm – distance between muscle
attachment to bone and joint center
The component of muscle force that
•Angle of muscle attachment to bone
produces torque (Ft) at the joint is directed
perpendicular to the attached bone.

Mechanical Advantage Muscular Power

Biceps Brachii

• the product of muscular force and the

velocity of muscle shortening

A B C • the rate of torque production at a joint

A) maximum when the elbow is at approximately 90º because 100%
of muscle force is acting to rotate the radius.
B) Mechanical advantage decreases as the joint angle increases
• the product of net torque and angular
from 90º because more of the force is pulling the radius toward velocity at a joint
the elbow
C) Mecanical advantage decreases as the joint angle decreases
from 90 º because more and more of the force is pulling the
radius away from the elbow.

Muscular Strength, Power and

Endurance
Warm-Up

What is muscular endurance?

• the ability of muscle to exert tension the speeds of nerve and muscle functions
over a period of time increase
• the opposite of muscle fatigability

5
 Force-Velocity Curve
Post Warm-up

- shifts to the right

Normal body temperature
Elevated body temperature
- higher maximum
isometric tension
Force

- higher maximum
velocity of shortening
possible at a given
load
Velocity