The Value Held in Stretching

"This triggers the stretch reflex (also called the myotatic reflex) which attempts to resist the change in muscle length by causing the stretched muscle to contract" 

I chose this quote because I had previously not fully considered the tension that occurs within the muscles. After reading over the sentence I grasped the concept that the contraction of muscle is a mechanism to prevent over exertion. 

"Hence when you stretch, the muscle fiber is pulled out to its full length sarcomere by sarcomere, and then the connective tissue takes up the remaining slack. When this occurs, it helps to realign any disorganized fibers in the direction of the tension. This realignment is what helps to rehabilitate scarred tissue back to health."

I chose this quote as I had previously never thought about connective tissues role in muscle tension before. Apparently it takes a major role that I would have otherwise have missed.

"lasts for only a moment and is in response to the initial sudden increase in muscle length. The reason that the stretch reflex has two components is because there are actually two kinds of intrafusal muscle fibers"

I chose this quote because it really made me think about what really happened on a microscopic level. It helped bring the realization that there are more than just one type of muscle fiber and each type specializes in different functions. So not only are the muscle fibers different, anatomically, from what I had previously conceived, but is their physiology.

R&R

In this reading we learned the anatomical and physiological effects of stretching. Although the reading dives into the specific details about the fibers and their names, the reading didn't mention the long term effects of over stretching. The reading remarks that, "Only consummate professional athletes and dancers at the top of their sport (or art) are believed to actually possess this level of muscular control". What I was wondering was what specifically makes it so that these athletes are superior in their sport, for instance, would a swimmer be genetically superior in regards to flexibility than a gymnast. I was also wondering how exactly stretching could negatively impact performance. I was also wondering the effects of a warm down. We already know that by doing a warm down, our lymphatic system cleans the body, but what about the fibers in the muscle?