Download Muscles, tendons and ligaments

Muscles, tendons and ligaments
How they work
together to help us
move
Muscle Pairings
Muscles work together in pairs and use a
pulling force with the bones in the body to
move. Muscles pull by flexing/contracting
or shortening (going thicker) while the
other muscle must extend/straightens or
lengthen (goes long and thin). Such
muscle pairs are called antagonistic. This
means they do the opposite of one
another.
Muscle examples
Biceps and triceps
– raise and lower
the arm
Pectoral and
shoulder – move
the whole arm
back and forwards
More muscles
Quadriceps
(thigh) and
Hamstring –
Bend and
straighten the
knee joint
Calf and shin
muscles – bend
the ankle joint.
Ligaments
Ligaments link
bones together.
Some very
common ones that
are damaged are
the ones
surrounding the
knee, eg the
crutiate and medial
ligaments.
Tendons
Tendons tie muscle
onto bone and
allow the muscle to
work the bone as a
lever. They are
very important. Eg
Achilles tendon –
attaches the calf
muscle to the heel
bone. Without it,
we could not walk.
Joint types
The five main
types of joints are
Hinge – allow
movement in one
direction only eg
knee and elbow
Ball and socket –
allow circular
movement eg hip
and shoulder
Pivot joints can
allow some
movement eg your
neck
Gliding and sliding
joints are many
small bones
moving over each
other eg ankle,
wrist
Fixed joints don’t
move eg skull.