Skeletal Muscle

The majority of the muscles in your body are skeletal muscles. They make up between 30 to 40% of your total body mass. Tendons (tough bands of connective tissue) attach skeletal muscle tissue to bones throughout your body. Your shoulder muscles, hamstring muscles and abdominal muscles are all examples of skeletal muscles.

Skeletal muscles consist of flexible muscle fibers that range from less than half an inch to just over three inches in diameter. These fibers usually span the length of the muscle. The fibers contract (tighten), which allows the muscles to move bones so you can perform lots of different movements.

What is skeletal muscle?

Skeletal muscle is a highly specialized tissue. Its primary function is to generate longitudinal contraction. Skeletal muscles are unique tissues that are composed of bundles of highly oriented and dense muscle fibers, each a multinucleated cell derived from myoblasts. The muscle fibers in native skeletal muscle are closely packed together in an extracellular three-dimensional matrix to form an organized tissue with high cell density and cellular orientation.

Structure of skeletal muscle

Skeletal muscles consist of flexible muscle fibers that range from less than half an inch to just over three inches in diameter. These fibers usually span the length of the muscle. The fibers contract (tighten), which allows the muscles to move bones so you can perform lots of different movements.

Disorders related to skeletal muscles

Muscular dystrophies

This group of diseases causes progressive degeneration of skeletal muscle fibers. They’re the result of having an abnormal gene and can be inherited (passed down through families). There are many different muscular dystrophies.

Rhabdomyolysis

This life-threatening condition causes a breakdown of muscle tissue. The damaged muscles release proteins, electrolytes and other substances into the blood. This can lead to serious organ damage. Traumatic injuries, heatstroke or severe overexertion can cause rhabdomyolysis.

Strains

Muscle strains, or pulled muscles, occur when you overstretch muscle fibers. These injuries are usually the result of overuse. Severe strains can lead to partial or complete muscle tears.

How to take care of skeletal muscles

We can take care of our skeletal muscles by:

• Doing regular strength conditioning and resistance exercises

• Eating a nutritious, balanced diet.

• Maintaining a healthy body weight.

• Stretching and warming up your muscles before physical activity.

  
  

Some skeletal muscle conditions, such as strains and age-related degeneration, are really common. Muscle injuries account for 10 to 55% of all sports injuries, and about 90% of those are strains. Others are fairly rare.

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