Muscle movement

Each muscle performs a specific action when it is contracted.

Muscles attach via tendons to bone, which are either used to fix a muscle or act as a lever and pulling force to enable movement.

Our muscles help us to maintain our posture, balance and strength.

Other important functions are helping us breath, digestion and speaking.

The powerful cardiac tissue in our hearts pumps our blood circulating  around our body.

The contraction of muscles helps to squeeze blood along in our veins, being especially important in our lower limbs.

During activity muscle tissue produces energy as heat which maintains our core body temperature.

Muscles use the sliding filament theory to create movement.

How movement occurs

• The boundaries of each sarcomere are known as Z-lines.
• Myosin and action create the distinctive striated bands of muscle tissue:
• Myosin are thick, darker protein filaments
• Actin are thin, lighter filaments
• Myosin and actin interact, sliding alongside each other to shorten in what is referred to as the sliding filament mechanism (theory). This mechanism creates muscle contract.