Muscle and Tendon are two types of fibres that connect bonds, allowing the joint to be moved by contracting or extending.
Muscles and Tendons characteristics.
A muscle consists of fibres of muscle cells covered by fascia, bundled with many more fibres, surrounded by thick protective tissue.
So each muscle fibre is covered in the fascia, then wrapped as a whole muscle in more fascia.
A tendon is a high-tensile-strength band of dense fibery connective tissue.
Indeed tendons can transmit the mechanical forces of muscle to the skeletal system.
Tendons, as per ligaments, are made of collagen fibres.
Compared to a tendon, a muscle is elastic and sits in between 2 tendons parts which keep the muscle itself connected to bonds.
So yes, muscles are not directly connected to bond themself. Luckily, there is to say, because if this was the case, it would be really easy to suffer from injuries like a muscle tear.
Said so, it is now easy to understand that tendons are capable of holding more force.
Injury type
Due to the consistency of the tendon and its functionality, we can now understand why a tendon tear or rupture is a severe injury that requires surgical intervention and months of rehabilitation.
On the other hand, often, after months of rehabilitation, still, the tendon would not go back to its original state.
A common tendon rupture is Achille’s tendon.
Achille’s tendon connects the lower part of the Gastrocnemius and Soleus to the foothill.
Repetitive movement and repetitive partial load on this tendon are the leading cause of injury.
Healthy muscle and tendon
Simple and gentle exercises are a good way to keep your muscle and tendon out of trouble.
The key points of these types of exercises are:
- Consistency
- Resisted load (by using rubber bands)
- Starting with light weight to then building up with time heavier load
- Good posture doing the exercises
- Have a day of rest from exercises once a week
- Avoid exercises that aggravate your pain.
Said so, other critical points for muscle and tendons good health seating into:
- Having a good night’s rest
- Eating more fresh food than overprocessed food
Regarding recovery from an injury, as previously mentioned in the ice pack and/or heat pack posts, the usage of temperature is recommended based on the stage of the injury and the pain experienced with it.
Even though on an inflamed tendon, never apply a heat pack.
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