We all have them, but often we pay little attention to them.
We pull them or are sore after exercise. Muscles are essential for movement because:
- They convert energy into motion, just as a car engine makes your car run.
- You couldn’t do anything without muscles (e.g. muscles in your larynx and tongue help you to speak, skeletal muscles help you to walk and run. These are voluntary movements).
- Muscles also control body movements that you are unaware of such as breathing, heartbeat, digestion, eye motion, and blinking.
How do muscles move?
Muscles are made up of cells that contract and then relax. These cells use energy from food, so without the nutrients in food, your muscles would not have the power to perform.
Some fun facts about muscles:
- It really does take more muscles to frown (12) than smile (10).
- Your eye muscles move more than 100,000 times each day.
- The smallest muscle is in your ear – it’s called the stapedius.
Exercise improves the way your muscles work; it raises heart rate, delivering more blood to your muscles, giving them the vital oxygen and nutrients they need to function. When you exercise, your digestive system slows to conserve energy, giving more to your muscles.
Muscles only move when commanded by your nervous system, the focus of your chiropractic care. This is one reason athletes and those who want to be their best seek regular chiropractic care.
Can you hurt muscles?
Yes, they can be torn, bruised, overworked or even suffer from a build up of toxins – lactic acid building up after exercise is an example of this.
Importantly muscles don’t operate in a little universe by themselves. They are only of use within the joint complex. That is to say that a joint has to be considered with all of its parts, the bones, joint surface, muscles ligaments, tendons, blood supply and nerves. We don’t feel just one of these structures but the whole of the joint. As a result, clients often tell me that they have “pulled a muscle” when in fact there is overall joint damage.
Chiropractic care can help with many things in the body; muscle and joint pain, pain radiating down the arm or leg even into the head are common reasons for clients to consult us.
If you know someone who has had pain for more than 2 weeks please pass them our telephone number 01603 764777 and we will ensure that they have the same good care that you have. Many people think that chiropractic care doesn’t focus on muscles but in fact, nothing could be further from the truth.