Overview
What is a muscle?
Muscles are soft tissue. Your muscles are made up of many stretchy fibers. Your body has more than 600 muscles. Different types of muscles perform different tasks. Some muscles allow you to run, jump, or do delicate tasks such as threading a needle. Others allow you to breath and digest food. Your heart is a hardworking muscle that beats thousands of time per day.
Muscle function can be affected by many diseases, injuries, and disorders. These conditions can lead to muscle weakness, muscle spasms, or pain. Paralysis can occur in more severe cases. The heart can’t pump blood through the body if it is affected by cardiomyopathy or another type of heart disease.
A healthy lifestyle will help your muscles function as they should. Maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly are key to keeping your muscles strong. Regular visits to your doctor are important to check for any conditions or diseases that could lead to muscle problems.
What are the different types of muscles?
Your nervous system (your body’s command center) can control certain muscles. They move when you think about it.
Other muscles work involuntarily. You can’t control their movements. They perform their tasks automatically. They take cues form other systems in order to do their job, such as your digestive or cardiovascular system.
There are three types muscle tissue in your body. These are:
* Skeletal: These muscles are part of your bones,tendons, and ligaments. Tendons connect bones to skeletal muscles all around your body. They support your body’s weight and allow you to move. These voluntary muscles are controlled by you. Some muscle fibers contract rapidly and require short bursts (fast-twitch muscles). Some muscles move slowly, like your back muscles which help with posture.
* Cardiac: These muscles are found along the walls of your heart. They assist your heart in pumping blood through your cardiovascular system. You don’t control cardiac muscles. They contract when your heart tells you.
* Smooth: These muscles line organs like the stomach, bladder, and intestines. Smooth muscles are important in many body systems including the reproductive system of females, males, and respiratory systems. These muscles do not require you to think about it. These muscles do important jobs such as moving waste through your intestines, and helping your lungs expand when your breathe.
What do muscles do?
Muscles are involved in almost every system and function of our bodies. Different types of muscles are involved in:
* Speaking, breathing, and swallowing.
* Eating food and disposing of it.
* Standing straight, standing still, and moving.
* Pumping blood through blood vessels and the heart.
* Pushing a baby through a birth canal while the muscles in the uterus contract.
* Hearing and seeing.
Anatomy
How do your muscles look?
All types of muscle tissue are similar. There are subtle differences in how they look.
* Skeletal muscles are made up of many individual fibers. The fibers are made up of proteins, myosin and actin. The spindle shape is formed by the bundles of fibers. It is long and straight, with tapered ends. Each spindle is surrounded by a membrane. Because of the striped pattern that the spindles create, providers describe skeletal muscles as “striated” (striped).
* Cardiac muscle: These striated muscles are similar to skeletal muscles. The fibers of cardiac muscles are made up of special cells called cardiomyocytes. Your heart beat is made possible by cardiomyocytes.
* Smooth muscles: Actin and myosin are also responsible for smooth muscle fibers. These proteins form a spindle shape in skeletal muscles. These proteins are found in sheets in smooth muscles. These sheets give the muscle tissue a smooth look. There are many sizes of muscles within your body. Gluteus maximus, which is the muscle that forms your bottom, is the largest muscle. The stapedius is the smallest muscle and is located deep within your ear. This tiny muscle controls the movement and vibration of small bones within your ear, helping you to hear.
Conditions and Disorders
What are the conditions and disorders that affect muscles?
Problems with the muscle’s ability to function can be caused by a variety of diseases, medications, and injuries. These include:
What happens to the muscles after and during exercise?
After working out, many people feel sore muscles. Microtears, or tiny tears that occur when you place stress on a muscle, can cause soreness. Muscle soreness usually occurs within a few days of intense exercise. This is why the condition is called delayed onset muscle soreness by providers.
The muscle tissue becomes inflamed as the muscles heal and repair themselves. Your muscles will recover in a matter of days and the inflammation will disappear. The muscle tissue will continue to tear down and then rebuild itself with continued exercise. This causes muscles to grow.
What are the common symptoms and signs of conditions that affect the muscles?
The most common symptoms of muscle problems are:
These symptoms may not necessarily indicate something is wrong. Rest and hydration can often help muscle pain or weakness. Talk to your provider immediately if you experience any of these symptoms suddenly. Sudden muscle weakness and pain could indicate a serious condition.
What are some of the most common ways to test for muscle health?
Your provider might recommend:
* Complete blood count (CBC): A series of blood tests to evaluate your overall health, and look for infections.
* Electromyography (EMG), to determine how nerves and muscles function.
* Images of muscle damage can be shown by imaging studies, such as an MRI.
* Muscle biopsy is used to examine a sample muscle tissue for signs of disease.
Take care
How can I keep my body healthy?
You must be healthy in general to keep your muscles strong.
* Exercise regularly: Keeping your muscles and heart healthy is key to keeping your body strong. You can combine cardiovascular exercise with weight-bearing activities. Talk to your provider to find the right exercise program for you. Warm up before you start exercising to avoid injury. Warm muscles are less likely to be injured.
* Make smart decisions and eat right: To keep your muscles strong, eat a healthy diet. Avoid trans fats and sodium (such as in fried food), which can cause heart disease. Talk to your provider if you smoke and discuss a plan to quit.
* Keep your weight under control. Extra pounds can lead to injuries. You also increase your risk of developing health problems such as high blood pressure. Talk to your provider to determine the best weight for you and your lifestyle. Ask your provider about a weight management plan if you are overweight.
* Take a break when necessary: Allow your muscles to recover from a strain. If you feel tired after a hard workout, it is important to take a break. Injury prevention can be avoided by allowing your muscles to rest and heal.
* Make sure to schedule regular screenings. See your provider often. You are at greater risk for muscle problems if you have a history of certain diseases. Your provider can detect potential problems earlier if you keep track of your health. This is when treatment can be more effective.
Most Frequently Asked Questions
What time should I contact my doctor regarding my muscles?
Call your provider immediately if you experience muscle weakness or sudden pain. If you are having trouble breathing, swallowing, vision problems, chest pain, or balance problems, you should seek emergency medical attention immediately. These symptoms could indicate a serious condition.
Note from Cleveland Clinic
Your muscles are essential in keeping you alive, and allowing you to interact with the outside world. You see, hear, and move some muscles. Others help you to breathe and digest food. As we age, everyone loses some muscle mass. You need to maintain a healthy weight and get enough exercise. Regular screenings can help detect any health issues that could lead to muscle problems.
