ENERGY SOURCES FOR MUSCLES

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 INTRODUCTION
• Muscle contraction requires energy and muscles work by
converting chemical energy into mechanical work.

• The immediate source of energy for muscle contraction is ATP,

and ATP is formed by the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids
and amino acids.

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 METABOLIC SYSTEMS
• There are 3 main metabolic systems which provide energy required
for muscle contraction:

(1) the phosphocreatine-creatine system,

(2) the glycogen-lactic acid system, and

(3) the aerobic system.

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• The phosphocreatine-creatine system is used during periods of high
PHOSPHOCREATINE-CREATINE SYSTEM
activity (eg. During a 100m dash)

• During periods of high activity, cycling of phosphorylcreatine allows for

quick release of ATP to sustain muscle activity.

• At rest, some ATP in the mitochondria transfers its phosphate to

creatine, so that a phosphorylcreatine store is built up.

• During exercise, the phosphorylcreatine is hydrolyzed at the junction

between the myosin heads and actin, forming ATP from ADP and thus
permitting contraction to continue
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 GLYCOGEN-LACTIC ACID SYSTEM
The stored glycogen in muscle can be split into glucose and the glucose then used for energy. The
initial stage of this process, called glycolysis, occurs without use of oxygen and, therefore, is said
to be anaerobic metabolism.

During glycolysis, each glucose molecule is split into two pyruvic acid molecules, and energy is
released to form four ATP molecules for each original glucose molecule.

Ordinarily, the pyruvic acid then enters the mitochondria of the muscle cells and reacts with
oxygen to form still many more ATP molecules.

However, when there is insufficient oxygen for this second stage (the oxidative stage) of glucose
metabolism to occur, most of the pyruvic acid then is converted into lactic acid, which diffuses
out of the muscle cells into the interstitial fluid and blood.

Therefore, much of the muscle glycogen is transformed to lactic acid, but in doing so,
considerable amounts of ATP are formed entirely without the consumption of oxygen.
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AEROBIC SYSTEM

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 AT REST/LIGHT EXERCISE
• At rest and during light exercise (i.e., below 50% of maximal
contraction capacity), muscles utilize lipids in the form of free
fatty acids as their energy source.

• As the intensity of exercise increases, lipids alone cannot

supply energy fast enough and so use of carbohydrate
becomes the predominant component in the muscle fuel
mixture.

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 PROTEINS
• In the absence of other fuels, protein can serve as
an energy source for contraction.

• However, protein is used by muscles for fuel

mainly during dieting and starvation or during
heavy exercise.

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SUMMARY

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 Types of Muscle fiber
• Slow twitch (I) fibers innervated by alpha 2 motor neurons,
smaller of the two α motor neurons

• Fast twitch (II) fibers innervated by alpha 1 motor neurons,

larger of the two α motor neurons

• Fast twitch (II) fibers have higher excitation threshold and

faster conduction velocity
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Characteristics of Skeletal Muscle Fiber Types

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Properties of motor units

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 SUMMATION,
TREPPE & TETANUS

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TWITCH
A single neural stimulation produces a single contraction or
twitch which lasts about 7-100msec

 Sustained muscular contractions require many repeated

stimuli

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3 Phases of Twitch
1. Latent period before contraction:
◦ the action potential moves through
sarcolemma
◦ causing Ca2+ release

2. Contraction phase:
◦ calcium ions bind
◦ tension builds to peak

3. Relaxation phase:
◦ Ca2+ levels fall
◦ active sites are covered
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Tension in a Twitch
 Length of twitch depends on type of muscle

Figure
DR Phiri SB 10–15a (Navigator)
 Treppe
A phenomenon in cardiac/Skeletal muscle

 The occurrence of a successive increase in amplitude of the

first few contractions of skeletal muscle that has received a
number of stimuli of the same intensity following a
quiescent period. Also called staircase phenomenon

 Repeated stimulations immediately after relaxation phase:

stimulus frequency < 50/second

 Causes a series of contractions with increasing tension

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Wave Summation
 Increasing tension or summation of twitches

 Occurs if a muscle is stimulated again before full

relaxation

 Repeatedstimulations before the end of relaxation phase:

stimulus frequency > 50/second

 Causes increasing tension or summation of twitches

DR Phiri S B Figure 10–16b

 Tetanic Contraction
 Alsocalled tetanized state or tetanus, occurs when a motor unit
has been maximally stimulated by it’s motor neuron

Complete Tetanus
 Occurs when a muscles motor unit is stimulated by multiple
impulses at a sufficiently high frequency
If stimulation frequency is high
 If stimuli are deliveredenough,
at a high Incomplete
muscle never the
frequency, begins to will
twitches
relax,
overlap resulting in tetanic and isTetanus
in continuous
contractions
contraction  If rapid stimulation
 When tetanized, the contracting tensioncontinues
in theand muscleremains
muscle is not
allowed to
constant in a steady state. This is the maximal relax, twitches
possible contraction
reach maximum level of
tension
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 THANK
YOU

Physiology is sweet
DR Phiri S B