The Muscular System

1. The Muscular System

2. More than 600 muscles make up the muscular system

3. *You need only 17 muscles to smile*You need 43 muscles to frown*Every 2000 frowns create one wrinkle!!

4. What is a muscle? Bundles of fibers held together by connective tissue.

5. There are 3 main kinds of muscle: • Cardiac • Visceral (smooth) • Skeletal

6. Cardiac Muscle • Forms the walls of the heart and contracts to circulate blood. • Voluntary or Involuntary?

7. Visceral (smooth) • Found in the internal organs of the body • Contracts to cause movement in organs such as the digestive and respiratory systems Voluntary or Involuntary?

8. Skeletal Muscle • Attached to bones and causes body movement • Voluntary or Involuntary?

9. Four functions of Skeletal muscles: • Attach to bones to provide voluntary movement • Produce heat and energy for the body • Help maintain posture by holding the body erect • Protect internal organs

10. Muscles stay in a partially contracted state at all times. This is called muscle tone.

11. Atrophy • When muscles are not used for a long period of time they begin to waste away or shrink in size. • What are some things that can cause atrophy?

12. Diseases and Abnormal Conditions

13. Fibromyaligia Chronic, widespread pain in specific muscle sites

14. Symptoms: • Muscle stiffness • Numbness or tingling in the arms or legs • Fatigue • Sleep disturbances • Headache • depression

15. Cause: • Unknown • Thought to be caused by stress , weather, and poor physical fitness

16. Treatment Treatment is geared toward pain relief • Physical Therapy • Massage • Exercise • Stress reduction • Medication to relax muscles and relieve pain

17. Muscular Dystrophy A group of inherited diseases that lead to chronic, progressive muscle atrophy.

18. Facts about Muscular Dystrophy: • Appears in early childhood • Muscle cells begin to die in a healthy child • The ability to move is decreased • Usually confined to a W/C by 9 years old • Eventually muscle weakness affects heart and diaphragm resulting in cardiac and respiratory failure. • Life expectancy: late teens-early 20’s

19. Symptoms: • Muscle weakness • Apparent lack of coordination • Progressive crippling, resulting in fixations (contractures) of the muscles

20. Treatment • There is no cure! • Physical Therapy to slow progression and reduce deformities. • Medications • Assistive devices (W/C, crutches, braces,etc) • Surgery

21. Myasthenia Gravis Chronic condition where nerve impulses are not properly transmitted to the muscles. This leads to muscular weakness and paralysis.

22. No cure. • Treatment geared to just support the patient.

23. Muscle Spasms Sudden, painful involuntary muscle contraction

24. Causes: • Overexertion • Low electrolyte levels • Poor circulation • Treatment • Gentle pressure • Stretching

25. Strain Overstretching of or injury to a muscle and/or tendon

26. Symptoms: • Myalgia (muscle pain) • Swelling • Limited movement • Treatment: • Rest • Muscle relaxants • Pain medications • Elevating the extremity • Alternating hot and cold applications