Netfit.co.uk Stretching Ebook

The importance of the role of the musculoskeletal system.

When we talk about stretching the body, we are describing stretching a system known as the musculoskeletal system. This system includes the bones of the skeleton, along with the ligaments, muscles and their tendons, which help to move and support these bones.

The musculoskeletal system has developed primarily for the purpose of locomotion or movement. It also provides an excellent supporting/protective system to the vulnerable internal organs, whose main role is to provide the musculoskeletal system with nourishment, stimulation, and purification.

Many people consider the nervous system, including the brain; or the circulatory system, including the heart, to be the most important systems. It goes without saying that if the heart stops and the brain ceases to function, the body dies. However, without the body being able to move and generate energy and heat, search for food, help circulate the blood and lymph, expand the rib cage in order to breathe, and perform numerous evasive movements in order to protect itself, it would not be able to exist and function naturally.

Therefore, it would be quite reasonable to state that the musculoskeletal system is the most important system. By accepting the importance of its role of importance, we must also recognize that the need to maintain it in top condition should be paramount. If this is difficult to understand and accept, consider the plights of people who suffer from advanced muscular dystrophy, or are totally paralyzed.

Gradually their organs fail, their lungs cannot function properly, or unaided, due to weakness in the respiratory muscles, and the lack of posture causes a stasis in both the lungs and the circulation, normally resulting in severe infections and eventual death.

The components of the musculoskeletal system.

There are three main components to this intricate system, all working in conjunction with each other, and all having some effect on the system as a whole. The first component is the skeleton.

This consists of numerous bones, whose shape and structure reflects their role, and which are brought into contact with each other to make a “joint”. This gives rise to a structure made of a very solid, strong material, which is able to articulate.

The outer layers of the bones consist of a hard, dense material, while the centers are made of a spongy cortex that makes the bones lighter, otherwise we would not be able to move our own weight!

This cortex also provides a medium for the rich network of blood vessels to penetrate through the bones, providing nourishment, and transporting away the new red blood cells that are manufactured in some bones.

The ends of all articulating bones are covered in a cartilaginous surface (hyaline), which helps to protect the bones against the wear and tear caused by continual movement and friction, and allows the bones to “glide” over, or against, each other.

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