Week 12, Day 2:

Skeletal Muscle Physiology

How much physiology do TAMU BMEN majors learn?
Did you have to take a physiology course?
Are you familiar with actin, myosin, and sarcomeres?

Electromyography (EMG) measures muscular electrical activity.

This electrical activity is primarily a result of what ions?
 Outline for today
• Review “modeling” steps
• MoCap data to IK
• IK to ID
• JRM to muscle tension
• Combine all for more accurate joint load estimation (now in ortho biomechanics field)

• Muscle physiology
• From motoneuron excitation to muscle contraction
• Sliding filament theory
• F-L curve
• F-V curve
• Work, energy, and metabolites
Computer-based calculations
• These calculations are painful and could be “computerized”.
• What information do we need?

• How can we get such information?

• Anthropometry?
• “Algorithms” based off multiple marker trajectories? How?
• What is a model? Examples?
• A simplified or “fictional” representation of real phenomena
• Sometimes for the purpose of reducing/eliminating unknown variables
• Motion Biomechanics examples? ATD, animal models, computer models
Human body modeling
• Goal is to go from motion capture or IMU to linear and angular
acceleration for the purpose of inverse dynamics calculations
• “Inverse kinematics”
• OpenSim and AnyBody are modeling platforms
• https://simtk-confluence.stanford.edu/display/OpenSim/User%27s+Guide
• OpenSim uses “inverse kinematics” to create a “best fit” posture/position for
every frame of motion capture data. This matches a scaled model to the real
participant.
From IK to ID
• I and m are known from scaling of the model
• as and 𝛼s are calculated from IK
• Using standard F = ma methods, JRFs and JRMs can be
calculated.
 Contribution of muscle
• Now, we have joint reaction moments.
• If given the moment arm of the muscle for a joint, we
could then calculate the tension in said muscle.
• Even without IK and ID, this method could be used
with simple mechanics problems. Stuart McGill studied
low back mechanics.
• 5cm was the accepted moment arm for the “single muscle
equivalent” of the spinal erectors
• McGill, Stuart M., and Robert W. Norman. "Effects of an anatomically
detailed erector spinae model on L4L5 disc compression and shear." Journal
of biomechanics 20.6 (1987): 591-600.
• Could calculate shear and compressive forces when able to calculate tension

• Is this single muscle equivalent accurate?

Muscle indeterminacy problem
• Often, more than 1 muscle crosses a joint and contributes to torque
• How much tension is in each muscle?
• Indeterminate
• Solution: optimization
• Of what? Tension? Stress? Activation?
• Multiple options exist.
• If I go to the gym and do a bicep curl, how much tension is in my:
• Biceps brachii
• Brachialis
• Brachioradialis
• Need to understand how muscles produce tension to answer this
question!
From muscle to sarcomere
Guyton, Arthur, and John Hall. "Textbook of medical physiology, 11th." (2006).

• Muscle belly – epimysium

• Fasciculus – perimysium
• Myocyte/muscle fiber – endomysium
• Sarcolemma = cell membrane
• Multinucleated
• Often extends length of muscle
• Myofibril
• Contains string of sarcomeres
• Sarcomere
 Sarcomere structure
• Z disc
• Actin (ac“thin”)
• I band
• Myosin
• A band
• Titin

• Sarcoplasm
• Sarcoplasmic reticulum
From neuron to contraction
1. AP travels to motoneuron axon terminus (NMJ/motor end plate)
2. ACh release at NMJ causes Na+ influx → depolarization
3. The now muscular AP causes depolarization in center of cell
4. SR releases large amount of Ca2+ ions
5. Ca2+ ions interact with sarcomeres to allow for myosin to bind to
actin

For the bicep muscle, in SAP, would you expect the depolarization to
move ML-ly, AP-ly, or SI-ly?

Why? What is EMG?

 Sliding filament theory
• Ca2+ binds to troponin
• Troponin moves tropomyosin
• Active binding sites on actin are open
• Myosin can bind
• Execute power stroke
• Unbinds from actin
• Releases ADP+P
• ATP is cleaved to “cock” myosin head
• Myosin rebinds and repeats

• Until when?
• Ca2+, ATP, Z disc
Implications of SFT on length and force
• How would you expect the force-length graph to look?

• On the sarcomere level?

• On the muscle level?

• Optimal length?
• Sacromere is 2 microns
• Muscle depends!
• Can change!
Force-Velocity
• Is this what you’d expect?

• Which is stronger (same MV):

• Long thin muscle
• Short thick muscle
• Why? (draw curves: N vs cm)
• Which is faster (same MV):
• Long thin muscle
• Short thick muscle
• Why? (draw curves: N vs cm/s)
Energy and Metabolites
• W = Fd • Local fatigue
• Energy for contraction comes
from ATP
• Some ATP is stored, but new
ATP is generated
• Glycolysis (fast)
• Lactic acid fermentation
• Cellular respiration (slow)
• Requires oxygen
• Heat causes loss
• Lactic acid
• ADP + P
• H+ (excess CO2)
• Lack of O2
• Glycogen depletion
• Heat
• Interferes with Ca2+ mechanisms
• Reduces ability to contract
Questions?
• Anything you would like to go over again?