The Important Role of Skeletal Muscles in the Human Body

Skeletal muscles play a huge role in the way our bodies function because without muscles, our bones would not properly be held together.

Most of the body’s muscle tissue is skeletal muscle. It interacts with the skeleton to move body parts. It’s long, thin cells are called fibers and they have more than one nucleus. Their structure gives them a striped look. The muscles are considered voluntary, which means that the contractions can be controlled.

A skeletal muscle contains bundles of muscle cells. Inside each cell are threadlike myofibrils, which are divided into sarcomeres, the unit of contraction. They are bundled together by connective tissue that extends past it to form tendons. A tendon is a strap of dense connective tissue that attaches a muscle to a bone. Tendons make joints more stable by keeping the adjoining bones appropriately aligned.

The human body has more than six hundred skeletal muscles. One end of the muscle is called the origin, which stays relatively motionless during contractions. The other end is called the insertion. It is attached to a bone that moves mostly while contractions occur. When a skeletal muscle contracts, it pulls on the bone it’s attached to. Because skeletal muscle exerts force only when it contracts, a second muscle, a flexor, is needed to flex or bend the joint.

Muscles attach very close to muscle joints, and are arranged in either pairs or groups. Some of the muscles work in reciprocal innervation, or opposition. That is, when one muscle stimulates, no signals are sent to the other group. Therefore, it does not contract. Other muscles work in a synergistic role. That is, it supports and the contraction adds force or helps stabilize another muscle.

The body has two basi...

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...aracter plays a boy with Duchenne muscular dystrophy who is sent to live at the Carrigmore Residential Home for the Disabled. He is only able to move his right hand, but befriends his roommate, who has cerebral palsy.

In conclusion, the make up of our bodies relies on the health and stability of the muscular system, most importantly, our skeletal muscles. Without these muscles, our bodies would not be able to move and contract, which causes some of our everyday movements, such as flexing, and walking. Our bodies are actually more delicate than we are thought to believe. We were taught that our bodies are strong and that nothing can stop us. In reality, a single muscle can cause our entire body to diminish, proving the invalidity that our bodies are invincible. With that, we must learn to take care of our entire bodies, not just the outside, but the inside as well.