Muscle Mechanics & Fiber Types
This determinant of strength relates directly to the cross-sectional diameter of the muscle.
What is muscle size?
This type of isotonic contraction occurs when a muscle lengthens while producing force.
What is an eccentric contraction?
This term describes the conscious and unconscious awareness of joint position.
What is proprioception?
The goal of balance is to maintain this specific point of the body—located just above the pelvis—within the body's base of support.
What is the Center of Gravity (or COG)?
In this type of kinetic chain exercise, the distal segment of the extremity is mobile and not fixed.
What is an open kinetic chain (OKC)?
This is defined as the ability to generate force against resistance.
What is muscular strength?
This type of contraction occurs without a change in muscle length and is useful in early rehab until full ROM activities begin.
What is an isometric contraction?
[DOUBLE JEOPARDY] These specific receptors (including muscle spindles and Golgi tendon organs) provide afferent information about changes in muscle length and tension.
What are tenomuscular receptors?
This input system provides information on the gravitational, angular, and linear accelerations of the head in space.
What is the vestibular system?
Co-activation of agonist and antagonist muscles is a major benefit of this specific type of exercise chain.
What is a closed kinetic chain (CKC)?
These muscle fibers are highly resistant to fatigue, require oxygen, and generate low power.
What are Type 1 (slow oxidative) fibers?
Eccentric contractions require less of this gas to produce the same amount of force as concentric contractions.
What is oxygen?
The main goal of neuromuscular control is to provide this.
What is dynamic stability?
This phase of balance requires maintaining equilibrium over a moving base of support, such as during walking lunges or a single leg hop.
What is dynamic balance?
This type of contraction is beneficial for early stages of rehabilitation, and is good at position specific strength.
What are isometrics?
This is the rate at which a muscle contracts and develops force through a range of motion.
What is power?
Because they are highly efficient, eccentric contractions require fewer of these to produce the same amount of force as concentric contractions.
What are motor units?
When stretched, these specific muscular structures resist the change in length by contracting the agonist muscle to facilitate force.
What are muscle spindles?
[DOUBLE JEOPARDY] Adding a cognitive task like recalling rules or a sport skill like throwing a ball turns a standard balance activity into this type of task.
What is a dual-task balance exercise?
Because they involve weight-bearing activities, closed kinetic chain exercises are considered more functional for this specific region of the body.
What is the lower extremity?
These specific muscle fibers fatigue quickly, use glucose for energy, and produce quick, forceful contractions.
What are Type 2b (fast glycolytic) fibers?
Eccentric training creates the most tension in the muscle to facilitate these sport-specific muscles
What are decelerator muscles?
Increasing muscle activation leads to an increase in this property of the muscular unit, helping resist stretching episodes.
What is stiffness?
This is the body's preferred input system for balance information.
What is somatosensory?
This term describes when one end of a muscle shortens concentrically while the other lengthens eccentrically, resulting in little change in overall muscle length.
What is a concurrent shift?
This determinant of strength relies on the optimal contact of actin and myosin via crossbridges.
What is the length-tension relationship?
[DOUBLE JEOPARDY] During a stretch-shortening exercise (plyometrics), this specific phase represents the electromechanical delay between the eccentric and concentric contractions.
What is the amortization phase?
This motor control system allows the body to plan movements and preprogram muscle activity based on previous experience.
What is feed forward control?
The activation of this muscle occurs when one is experiencing a posterior sway.
What is Tibialis Anterior?
The ultimate goal of a rehabilitation program is to progress from single joint to multi-joint, then to open and closed chains, and finally finish with these.
What are functional patterns?
This type of exercise is most useful when rehabbing a muscle with Type 1 fibers.
What is endurance training (High reps, low weight)?
In the hamstring strain study, eccentric strengthening in this specific position/state resulted in a rightward shift in the length-tension relationship and zero reinjuries for compliant athletes.
What is a lengthened state?
These three specific types of exercises are the primary techniques used to improve neuromuscular control.
What are balance training, closed kinetic chain exercises, and eccentric exercises?
Along with the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) and the Y Balance Test (YBT), this specific error-based scoring system is utilized by clinicians as an objective assessment of balance.
What is the Balance Error Scoring System (or BESS)?
While closed chain exercises increase resistance forces, open chain exercises decrease resistance forces while increasing distraction, rotational, and these specific types of forces.
What are acceleration forces?