Use It or Lose It

Over the past 24 posts I’ve been talking about the mechanism and the neurology of what a human individual is and what same said individual perceives itself to be.

We’ve looked at time in fractions of a second. We’ve looked at space as the medium in which our existence resides, defined not by the limits of its volume but rather the distance between objects we perceive occupying said space. The word infinity implies a quality of “is” without limits. WOW, without limits. Sounds God like to me. Without limits. Cool.

As long as the human condition in continuum is our focus, we can never leave neurology far behind. The function the neurons perform throughout our being. They are cool and important; however, they do not and cannot stand alone. They have a quality of movement, but they do not have the capacity or capability to open a can of soup. Have you seen a neuron? Here is one our neurons all by itself, under an electron microscope. Cool yes, nimble no.

Nerve Cell

One of the common definitions of life is the ability to independently move by your own devices. To articulate intentional movement involves an unbelievably complex dance of neural activity. The neurons provide the chemical signal that pulls the strings of the puppet. As my dear friend and mentor Dr. Mike Malkin (Master Puppeteer) taught me years ago; puppets can be very effective communicators.

The act of movement is initiated by neurons, but is performed by muscle cells. As there are several kinds of movement required to sustain life, there are several kinds of muscle cells throughout ones body. The study of muscle tissue is called “Kinesiology.”

kinesiology |kəˌnēsēˈäləjē, -zē-|

noun

The study of the mechanics of body movements.

DERIVATIVES

kinesiological |-sēəˈläjikəl, -zēə-|adjective,

kinesiologist |-jist|noun

ORIGIN late 19th cent.: from Greek kinēsis ‘movement’ (from kinein ‘to move’) + -logy.

From Wikipedia:

 “Kinesiology, also known as human kinetics is the scientific study of human movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, mechanical, and psychological mechanisms. Applications of kinesiology to human health include: biomechanics and orthopedics, rehabilitation, such as physical and occupational therapy, as well as sport and exercise.”

Muscle cells and systems prove working together is far more effective than  working alone.

This blogger feels the needs to state the fact of our static “Now” existence, but also hopes to explore the flow of human expression in time through space. This requires a hard look at movement. I have always  sought to consciously understand the artful manipulation of the relationship between my bones; that is to say, dance.  

Dance is the highly expressive language of movement, as articulate as words in expressing the human condition. The student and practitioner of dance would be well served by an understanding of movement variables; structural, loading, rigging, mechanical advantage, applied power, control systems, physics and that’s before you start moving.

You might note here that, though we may think of dance as very different from speech, dance is a form of speech as well.

For the dance artist, it is as important to know the specific timing of neuron function, as it is to know the specific timing of muscle function. The illusion of movement works in a specific way for a specific reason. If you know the reason... you know the drill... the illusion becomes a tool. YAAAA!

This is the story of the little engine that could.

The above cartoon shows the structures in skeletal muscles all built from living human cells. I want to tell the story of a singular impulse, traveling along a  specific path that targets a specific volume of muscle tissue; hence, movement. Note the Motor Neuron Axon. This is the synaptic terminal of this last neuron in the chain which delivers the message to the muscle bundle. This signal is called “Action Potential”. (See Post 10/31/2011) 

The message of an “Action Potential” is a chemical signal emitted from the axon of the neuron into the environment of the muscle cell. When this chemical signal becomes present, a cascade of events takes place. 

Remember epigenetics, where the environment governs. It is fascinating what else needs to be in the environment of muscle tissue, for it to function properly.

This is a very concise little machine engine. The progression of events goes: action potential delivered to the muscle bundle environment — muscle bundle prepares for contraction — sarcomeres contract — expression completed. A bit simplified I know; however, you don’t need to know how the nuclear power plant works to use a light switch. If you throw the switch and the light comes on, the “Now” problem is solved. Quite a neat trick, light.

You see, muscles can only do one trick as well; contract, that’s it.  Muscles cannot open back up again by themselves. Skeletal muscles cross joints. Muscles contract and effect change in the relationship between the bones.

Muscles are a simple binary system. The two choices are not open and close. It is zero or one, off or on. This make a huge difference to things when you add all those single bundles together into a whole being expression of emotion. Dance.

Muscle has a finite work potential. It is a limited resource. Muscle works in a given way for a given reason. If you know the reason, the illusion becomes a tool. I’ve heard that somewhere before. 

Nevertheless, here’s why it’s finite. Before a movement commences, there is a non-conscious guestimation of how many sarcomeres are needed to accomplish the task. Once the guess is made the action potential expresses itself by sarcomere contraction. Too many sarcomeres contracting and the object goes flying. Too few sarcomeres contracting and the object won’t be lifted.  

The motor neuron axon connects into a specific muscle bundle, only serving that muscle bundle. There is an axon for every working bundle. Each bundle can fire off independently, like LEDs in a flat screen LED television. Once that bundle expresses the action potential in the form of action, that’s it. That bundle cannot perform that trick again until it is forcibly opened back up.

The variable strength illusion comes from the number of muscle bundles you  contract, not any variance in the behavior of an individual sarcomere. At the sarcomere level it does the same thing every time. The number of soldiers sent to the battle can have a profound effect on the outcome.

For muscles to open and be refreshed after being spent, two needs must be fulfilled for this to occur. 

First: the environment must be flushed and restocked. The process of this side of the equation is all over the market place, from GatorAid to RedBull. I’ve alway liked regular bits of cool clear water and the occasional nice paleo snack. This part is all about how the river flows and that bio-chemistry stuff. You can learn how this nuclear power plant works if you want to; however, the light switch here, is being used all the time. Knowing how it works is better. If we know better, we do better.

Second: those contracted sarcomeres stuck in a closed expression, must be opened. As our skeletal muscles are arranged in opposing muscle groups across a joint. One choice to open closed sarcomeres, is to contract the muscle groups on the other side of the shared joint. The second solution is gravity. Arrange your posture so as to expand the range of motion of the closed muscle without pulling on it from the other side. There are many forms and disciplines for stretch that accomplish opening sarcomeres. The last way I know to accomplish sarcomere release is exterior intervention by means of physically, chemically or energetically manipulating the variable. 

When a muscle system is worked to the point of failure, parts of the system actually physically break. Since muscles have that happy quality called life, it repairs its own damage. When muscle experiences these repairs, more sarcomere structures are added to the muscle bundle than were there before the failure. Vigorous exercise tends to build muscle mass. Inactivity leads to atrophy. This loss of muscle mass proves the point, “ Use it or loose it.”

Fast twitch, slow twitch. This fellow has done a lot of twitching to get here. Break the muscle down by work, and in this case lots of work and you will rebuild. Faster and stronger than before, ready to meet the demands of environment anticipated to come. Is this a wise allocation of resources? Is this required to secure continued survival? I think not. 

The environment his muscle cells experience is massive repetitive load. More load than the system was manifested to endure so it builds more to reflect the needs of the environment.

Ask each of the systems in your being the same question. What is the environment that manifests each of the cells and system of the being you are? I wonder what kind of mental lifting this fellow could do if he spent as much effort on the muscles between his ears?  

What good are the advanced skills of contraction, when the needs of “Now” are requiring expansion?