The muscular system is that “force” that sets the body in motion. In general, without muscles, the human body would be like a shapeless mass.
Introducing the top 10 muscle facts you probably didn't know about.
10. The strongest muscles
The jaw muscles are the strongest muscle group in the human body, because the strength of their movements can reach 300 kg. The function of the masticatory muscles can be judged from their name - they take an active part in the mechanism of chewing food. These muscles drive the lower jaw, due to which a person can push it in different directions and return to its original position.
The chewing group includes only 4 muscles: chewing, temporal, lateral pterygoid and medial pterygoid. All of them represent a single physiological construction in which damage to at least one of the muscles leads to deformation of all the others.
9. 15% of people do not have a vestigial long palmar muscle
This muscle has come to us from our distant ancestors. Some animals preserved it, and they need it in order to release claws at times of danger.
You can use several methods to find out if you have this muscle.
The first is the Thomson method. Its essence is that a person squeezes the index finger and little finger into a fist, after which he bends the brush slightly, contrasting and covering the other fingers with the thumb. In this position, the long palmar muscle, if any, will be clearly visible.
The second way to detect vestigial muscle is the Schaffer method. Here, the researcher is asked to contrast the thumb with the little finger and slightly bend the brush. This method is more popular, although inferior in clarity to the Thomson method.
8. When walking, a person activates about 200 muscles
That is why, after birth, a person needs 1–1.5 years to learn how to walk, because to implement this process, you need to develop at least 200 muscles and master the technique of controlling them. Most of the load when walking falls on the biceps, quadriceps muscles of the thigh, as well as the gluteal and calf muscles.
From this we can conclude that such a walk familiar to most people is a fairly energy-intensive process.
7. Heart - a very powerful muscle
The heart is considered the strongest muscle relative to the duration of its work. Not a single muscle in the human body can be compared with this characteristic with the heart. The myocardium (the muscle layer of the heart, which ensures the reduction of the atria and ventricles) in a healthy person functions with high accuracy as a clock mechanism, without interruptions throughout life.
The heart muscle continuously pumps blood through the vessels, providing “transport” of oxygen and nutrients to the tissues of the body. Also, blood pressure depends on the work of the heart.
6. With a smile, seventeen different muscles are involved
Scientists believe that a minute of laughter has the same effect on the human body as 10 minutes of training in the gym. And a quarter of an hour of non-stop floody laughter replace a half-hour run! However, every laugh begins with a smile, which is carried out with the participation of 17 facial muscles: in the first place, 2 large zygomatic muscles are stretched, after which the remaining pairs of facial muscles are used. If the smile develops into laughter, then the muscles of the larynx, neck, chest, abdomen, back, and sometimes the muscles of the limbs begin to contract.
5. To restore the muscle system after exercise, a person needs about 48 hours
All human muscles are different. From this it follows that they need to be trained in different ways, and the time for recovery that they spend will not be the same. This should be taken into account during training, because the muscles must be given rest, since the formation of muscle fibers is carried out in accordance with the effect of supercompensation. At the same time, according to experts, the human body spends about two days on a full recovery of muscles.
4. Almost half of the total muscle mass of a person falls on the legs
The leg muscles are conventionally divided into several sections: buttock muscles, quadriceps, muscles of the back of the thigh and lower leg. These are the largest muscles in the human body and together they make up about 50% of the entire muscle system.
3. Almost 25% of all muscles are located in the face and neck
There are more than 100 muscles on the head and neck. They are responsible for facial expressions, eye movement, head rotation, jaw rotation, and many other functions. Their classification is rather arbitrary, since sometimes some of these muscles can be assigned to one or the other group.
2. Almost half of all energy used by a person per day is spent on muscle work
Almost 50% of the total energy of the human body is spent on the daily functioning of the muscle system. Even if you are not a professional athlete, all the same, about 40% of the energy that appears as a result of the breakdown of molecules goes to the work of your muscles, carried out during the daily activities. That is why athletes, spending excessive energy resources in training, increase their portions, “leaning” on a protein rich in energy.
1. The shortest muscle in the human body is the stirrup
In the human ear there is a very small muscle (its size reaches no more than a millimeter), which is responsible for the tension of the eardrum. Thanks to her work, the necessary conditions for transmitting and perceiving a sound pulse appear in the middle ear. Simply put, this small muscle plays a very important role in the functioning of the entire auditory system.