Chapter 1 Flexibility, Anatomy, and Physiology

Question 1

The Dangers and Limitations of Poor Flexibility

Answer 1

Tight, stiff muscles limit our normal range of movement. In some cases, lack of flexibility can be a major contributing factor to muscle and joint pain. In the extreme, lack of flexibility can mean it is difficult, for example, to even bend down or look over our shoulder.

Question 2

Tight, stiff muscles interfere with proper muscle action. If the muscles cannot contract and relax efficiently, this will result in

Answer 2

decreased performance and a lack of muscle movement control.

Question 3

Short, tight muscles also cause a dramatic loss of

Answer 3

strength and power during physical activity.

Question 4

muscles that are tight and stiff can even restrict blood circulation. Good blood circulation is vitally important in

Answer 4

helping the muscles receive adequate amounts of oxygen and nutrients.

Question 5

Poor circulation can result in

Answer 5

increased muscle fatigue and, ultimately, impede the muscles’ repair process and the ability to recover from strenuous exercise.

Question 6

The muscular system needs to be flexible to achieve

Answer 6

peak performance, and stretching is the most effective way of developing and retaining flexible muscles and tendons.

Question 7

True or False Flexibility, or range of movement, can be restricted by both internal and external factors.

Answer 7

True

Question 8

Internal

Answer 8

bones, ligaments, muscle bulk, muscle length, tendons, and skin all restrict the amount of movement at any particular joint. As an example, the human leg cannot bend forward bones, ligaments, muscle bulk, muscle length, tendons, and skin all restrict the amount of movement at any particular joint. As an example, the human leg cannot bend forward

Question 9

External Factors

Answer 9

age, gender, temperature, restrictive clothing, and of course any injury or disability will also have an effect on one’s flexibility.

Question 10

When aiming to improve flexibility, the

Answer 10

muscles and their fascia (sheath) should be the major focus of our flexibility training.

Question 11

Ligaments

Answer 11

Ligaments connect bone to bone and act as stabilizers for joints. Stretching the ligaments should be avoided and can result in a permanent reduction of stability at the joint, which can lead to joint weakness and injury.

Question 12

Tendons

Answer 12

Tendons also play a role in joint stability and contribute less than 10% to a joint’s overall flexibility; therefore tendons should not be a primary focus of stretching.

Question 13

True or False The human body contains over 215 pairs of skeletal muscles, which make up approximately 40% of its weight.

Answer 13

True

Question 14

What is the “nueromuscular junction”

Answer 14

The junction between muscle fiber and the motor nerve is known as the neuromuscular junction, and this is where communication between the nerve and muscle takes place.

Question 15

Muscle Reflexes

Answer 15

Skeletal muscles contain specialized sensory units that are sensitive to muscle lengthening (stretching). These sensory units are called muscle spindles and Golgi tendon organs and they are important in detecting, responding to, and modulating changes in the length of the muscle.

Question 16

Muscle spindles

Answer 16

Muscle spindles are made up of spiral threads called intrafusal fibers, and nerve endings, both encased within a connective tissue sheath, that monitors the speed at which a muscle is lengthening.

Question 17

If a muscle is lengthening at speed, signals from the intrafusal fibers will fire information via the

Answer 17

spinal cord to the nervous system so that a nerve impulse is sent back, causing the lengthening muscle to contract. The signals give continuous information to/from the muscle about position and power (proprioception).

Question 18

when a muscle is lengthened and held, it will

Answer 18

maintain a contractile response as long as the muscle remains stretched. This facility is known as the stretch reflex arc.

Question 19

The GTOs are inhibitory in nature, performing a protective function by reducing the risk of injury. When stimulated, the GTOs

Answer 19

inhibit the contracting (agonist) muscles and excite the antagonist’s muscles.

Question 20

Skeletal muscles can be broadly classified into two types:

Answer 20

Stabilisers and mobilisers

Question 21

stabilizers

Answer 21

which essentially stabilizes a joint. They are made up of slow-twitch fibers for endurance and assist with postural holding.

Question 22

2. Mobilisers*

Answer 22

are responsible for movement. They tend to be more superficial although less powerful than stabilizers but produce a wider range of motion. They tend to cross two joints and are made of fast-twitch fibers that produce power but lack endurance. Mobilizers assist with rapid or ballistic movement and produce high force. With time and use, they tend to tighten and shorten. Examples include hamstrings, piriformis, and rhomboids.

Question 23

This is known as static (isometric) contraction.

Answer 23

When a muscle acts without moving, force is generated but its length remains unchanged.

Question 24

A lever is

Walker, Brad. The Anatomy of Stretching, Second Edition (p. 16). North Atlantic Books. Kindle Edition.

Answer 24

device for transmitting (but not creating force) and consists of a rigid bar moving about a fixed point (fulcrum). More specifically, a lever consists of an effort force, resistance force, rigid bar, and a fulcrum.

Walker, Brad. The Anatomy of Stretching, Second Edition (p. 16). North Atlantic Books. Kindle Edition.

Question 25

The body and levers

Answer 25

The bones, joints, and muscles together form a system of levers in the body, where the joints act as the fulcrum, the muscles apply the effort, and the bones carry the weight of the body part to be moved.

Question 26

Levers are classified according to

Answer 26

the position of the fulcrum, resistance (load), and effort relative to each other.

Question 27

In a first-class lever, the effort and resistance are located on

Answer 27

on opposite sides of the fulcrum.(

Question 28

In a second-class lever, the effort and the resistance are located on the

Answer 28

same side of the fulcrum, and the resistance is between the fulcrum and effort.

Question 29

third-class lever, the effort and resistance are located on the

Answer 29

same side of the fulcrum, but the effort acts between the fulcrum and the resistance, and this is the most common type of lever in the human body.

Question 30

Reciprocal Inhibition

Answer 30

Most movement involves the combined effort of two or more muscles, with one muscle acting as the prime mover. Most prime movers usually have a synergistic muscle to assist them. Furthermore, most skeletal muscles have one or more antagonists that perform the opposite action. A good example might be hip abduction, in which gluteus medius acts as the prime mover, with tensor fascia latae acting synergistically and the hip adductors acting as antagonists, being reciprocally inhibited by the action of the agonists.

Question 31

Reciprocal inhibition (RI) is the physiological phenomenon in which there is

Answer 31

automatic inhibition of a muscle when its antagonist contracts. Under special circumstances, both the agonist and antagonist can contract together, known as a co-contraction.

Question 32

Stretching can be defined as what

Answer 32

Stretching, as it relates to physical health and fitness, is the process of placing particular parts of the body into a position that will lengthen the muscles and associated soft tissues.

Question 33

abduction

Answer 33

A movement away from the midline (or to return from adduction).

Question 34

Adduction

Answer 34

A movement toward the midline (or to return from abduction).

Question 35

Anatomical position

Answer 35

The body is upright with the arms and hands turned forward.

Question 36

Circumduction

Answer 36

Movement in which the distal end of a bone moves in a circle, while the proximal end remains stable.

Question 37

Elevation

Answer 37

Movement of a part of the body upwards along the frontal plane.

Question 38

Eversion

Answer 38

A movement at a joint results in the separation of two ventral surfaces (as opposed to flexion).

Question 39

Inversion

Answer 39

To turn the sole of the foot inward.

Question 40

Opposition

Answer 40

A movement specific to the saddle joint of the thumb, enables you to touch your thumb to the tips of the fingers of the same hand.

Question 41

Palmar

Answer 41

The anterior surface of the hand.

Question 42

Plantar

Answer 42

The sole of the foot

Question 43

Pronation

Answer 43

To turn the palm of the hand down to face the floor, or away from the anatomical and foetal positions.

Question 44

Prone

Answer 44

Position of the body in which the ventral surface faces down (as opposed to supine).

Question 45

Supination

Answer 45

To turn the palm of the hand up to face the ceiling, or toward the anatomical and foetal positions.