Blog #9

Any and every movement in the human body requires a muscle or muscles which uses
chemical energy to contract (Notes 1). There are 3 types of muscles including skeletal, smooth,
and cardiac muscle.
Every muscle is an organ which is comprised of skeletal muscle tissue, nervous tissue, blood,
and various other connective tissues.
Along with just the basic functions and mess ups with muscles, various other things can happen.
One of these are muscle fatigue. This is when a muscle loses its ability to contract during
strenuous exercise, it is referred to as fatigue. This usually happens from the compilation of lactic
acid in said muscle and this can happen from a lowered pH. What muscle fatigue in short terms
does is keep the muscle from contracting.
Another important thing that muscles do is heat production. The contraction of the skeletal
muscle is an important source of heat for the body. A large amount of the energy produced
through cellular respiration is lost as heat.
Another important issue is Oxygen Debt. During rest or moderate activity, there is not enough
oxygen to support aerobic respiration (Notes 4). Deficiency may develop during strenuous
exercise, and then pyruvic acid forms and reacts with the lactic acid. The lactic acid then diffuses
out of the muscle cells and is carried through the bloodstream to the liver. The term debt refers to
the amount of oxygen that the liver cells require to convert the accumulated lactic acid into
glucose, additional with the amount that muscle cells need to resynthesize ATP and create
phosphate.

The main issue going to be discussed is muscle fatigue and weakness. These terms are often
used as if they mean the same thing; however, they describe to completely different sensations
(Webmd 1).
Weakness is the lack of physical or muscle strength and the feeling that extra effort is require
to move any muscle. If its due to pain the person may be able to make muscles work; however,
it will hurt.
Fatigue is the feeling of tiredness or exhaustion or a need to rest because of lack of energy or
strength. Fatigue can result from overwork, poor sleeping habit, or lack of exercise. It is a
symptom that can also be caused by illness, medicine, or medical treatment such as
chemotherapy. Anxiety or depression can also cause fatigue (Webmd 1).
Neither of these are diseases, but rather symptoms. This is because these can be caused by many
other health problems.
For muscle fatigue a lot is known about it. It can be caused by many different mechanisms,
ranging from the accumulations of metabolites within muscle fibres to the generation of an
inadequate motor command in the motor cortex, and there is no central mechanism responsible

for muscle fatigue (Ncbi 1). This basically means that there is no one reason for muscle fatigue
and it can be various issues and effects of it as well. Muscle fatigue is used to denote as transient
decrease in the capacity to perform physical actions. Muscle fatigue can cause serious issues and
as well as muscle weakness needs to be watched and cared for properly.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/ringingearx/causes-of-muscle-fatigue-and-pain.html

http://slideplayer.com/slide/4746143/

http://www.teachpe.com/oxygen_debt.php

Works Cited
Enoka, Roger M., and Jacques Duchateau. "Muscle Fatigue: What, Why and How It Influences
Muscle Function." The Journal of Physiology. Blackwell Science Inc, n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.
"Weakness and Fatigue-Topic Overview." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.
Anatomy and Physiology notes.