Which Type Of Muscles Can You Control Voluntarily?

Skeletal Muscle

Skeletal muscles comprise xxx to forty% of your total body mass. They're the muscles that connect to your bones and allow you to perform a wide range of movements and functions. Skeletal muscles are voluntary, meaning you lot control how and when they piece of work.

Overview

What is skeletal muscle?

The majority of the muscles in your trunk are skeletal muscles. They make up betwixt thirty 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 intestinal muscles are all examples of skeletal muscles.

What's the departure between skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle?

There are three types of muscles in your body:

Skeletal muscle: Skeletal muscles are voluntary muscles, meaning you control how and when they move and work. Nerves in your somatic nervous arrangement send signals to brand them function. If you lot attain for a book on a shelf, y'all're using skeletal muscles in your neck, arm and shoulder.
Cardiac muscle: Cardiac muscles are only in your eye. They help your middle pump blood throughout your body. They're involuntary muscles that your autonomic nervous organization controls. That means they work without you having to recollect nigh it.
Smooth muscle: Smooth muscle makes up your organs, blood vessels, digestive tract, peel and other areas. Polish muscles are involuntary, besides. So, your autonomic nervous organisation controls them too. For example, muscles in your urinary organization help rid your body of waste product and toxins.

Part

What is the purpose of the skeletal muscles?

The skeletal muscles are a vital role of your musculoskeletal organization. They serve a diversity of functions, including:

Chewing and swallowing, which are the first parts of digestion.
Expanding and contracting your breast cavity so you tin can inhale and exhale at will.
Maintaining trunk posture.
Moving the bones in different parts of your body.
Protecting joints and holding them in identify.

Beefcake

Where are the skeletal muscles located?

At that place are skeletal muscles throughout your torso. They're located between bones.

What are the skeletal muscles made of?

Skeletal muscles consist of flexible muscle fibers that range from less than half an inch to but over three inches in bore. These fibers usually span the length of the muscle. The fibers contract (tighten), which allows the muscles to motion basic so y'all tin perform lots of different movements.

How are the skeletal muscles structured?

Each muscle can contain thousands of fibers. Different types of sheaths, or coverings, surround the fibers:

Epimysium: The outermost layer of tissue surrounding the entire muscle.
Perimysium: The center layer surrounding bundles of muscle fibers.
Endomysium: The innermost layer surrounding individual muscle fibers.

What practise skeletal muscles look like?

Skeletal musculus fibers are red and white. They look striated, or striped, so they're oft chosen striated muscles. Cardiac muscles are besides striated, simply smooth muscles aren't.

How heavy are skeletal muscles?

Although skeletal muscles typically make upwardly roughly 35% of your trunk weight, this can vary from person to person. Men have about 36% more skeletal muscle mass than women. People who are tall or overweight also tend to have higher musculus mass. Musculus mass decreases with age in both men and women.

Conditions and Disorders

What weather and disorders bear upon skeletal muscles?

A wide range of conditions tin can affect skeletal muscles, from mild injuries to serious or even life-threatening myopathies (diseases that touch skeletal muscles). A few are:

Muscular dystrophies: This group of diseases causes progressive degeneration of skeletal musculus fibers. They're the outcome of having an aberrant gene and can be inherited (passed downwards through families). There are many different muscular dystrophies.
Myasthenia gravis (MG): This autoimmune affliction prevents muscles and nerves from communicating every bit they should. It leads to severe muscle weakness and fatigue. MG tin can get in difficult to move, walk, speak, chew, run across, concur your head upward or keep your eyelids open. It can fifty-fifty lead to severe breathing problems.
Rhabdomyolysis: This life-threatening status causes a breakdown of muscle tissue. The damaged muscles release proteins, electrolytes and other substances into the claret. This can lead to serious organ impairment. Traumatic injuries, heatstroke or astringent overexertion tin can cause rhabdomyolysis.
Sarcopenia: We gradually lose skeletal muscle mass equally we age. Sarcopenia begins around age 40. By lxxx, we lose most 50% of our muscle mass. Sarcopenia tin lead to loss of function, mobility, remainder bug and falls. Obesity, hormonal changes and other health weather condition can advance muscle loss.
Strains: Muscle strains, or pulled muscles, occur when you lot overstretch muscle fibers. These injuries are usually the event of overuse. Astringent strains tin lead to partial or consummate musculus tears.
Tendonitis: Tendons connect skeletal muscles to bones. Tendon inflammation can make it painful to employ these muscles. Like strains, tendonitis is ordinarily caused by overworking tendons.

How common are skeletal muscle conditions?

Some skeletal musculus weather, such as strains and historic period-related degeneration, are really common. Muscle injuries account for ten to 55% of all sports injuries, and about ninety% of those are strains. Others are adequately rare. For case, myasthenia gravis affects between xiv and twoscore people out of every 100,000 in the U.S.

Care

How can I continue my skeletal muscles healthy?

Take care of your skeletal muscles by:

Doing regular strength conditioning and resistance exercises.
Eating a nutritious, counterbalanced diet.
Maintaining a healthy body weight.
Stretching and warming up your muscles earlier physical action.

Ofttimes Asked Questions

When should I telephone call my doctor?

Contact your doctor correct away if y'all:

Can't move any part of your body.
Experience numbness in your face or limbs.
Have severe, sudden muscle pain or cramps.
Accept very night urine or depression urine output.
Feel excessively weak or tired.

A note from Cleveland Clinic

Skeletal muscles are the most common muscles in your body. You use them to move your bones, so they play a vital role in everyday activities. Skeletal musculus injuries or diseases can take a profound outcome on your life. It'south important to keep your muscles as strong and salubrious as possible.