Throughout his life, a person experiences various physical activities. These can be both professional strength exercises, and simply related loads that occur in various life situations.
During physical exertion, the muscles that are involved in the process of work increase. This happens due to an increase in the fibers that make up the muscle. The muscle fiber can be the entire length of the muscle, or it can be shorter. The muscle fiber consists of a large number of contractile elements - myofibrils. Inside each element are even smaller elements - myofiaments actin and myosin. And due to these elements, muscle contraction occurs.
With regular weight lifting, muscle fibers increase, this will be muscle hypertrophy.
Muscle hypertrophy - an increase in muscle mass due to the "growth" of muscle fibers.
Most often, muscle hypertrophy is present in athletes involved in bodybuilding. Since this sport is aimed at improving your body with the help of power loads, high-calorie nutrition and taking various anabolic drugs. ATas a result, a pronounced muscle relief is formed on the body, that is, muscle hypertrophy occurs.
Processes occurring in muscles during exercise
The basis of the structure of the human body is protein, it is present in all its tissues. Therefore, changes in muscle tissue depend on the synthesis and catabolism of protein in the tissue.
With constant physical activity, skeletal muscle hypertrophy occurs. When the body experiences stress, the content of contractile proteins increases in the corresponding muscles. However, as scientifically established, during physical impacts on the body, protein synthesis is suspended, and catabolism is activated in the first minutes of the recovery process. Thus, muscle hypertrophy occurs due to the activation of protein synthesis, and not due to a decrease in the rate of protein breakdown at a constant level of protein synthesis.
Skeletal muscle hypertrophy
The human muscle tissue performs motor functions, it forms skeletal muscles. The main task that skeletal muscles perform is contractility, which occurs due to a change in the length of the muscle when exposed to nerve impulses. Using his muscles, a person can "move". Each muscle performs "its" specific action, it can only work in one specific direction when acting on a joint. To ensure the movement of the joint around its axis, a pair of muscles is involved, present on both sides in relation to the joint.
The strength of a muscle is determined by the amount and thicknessfibers that are present in this muscle. They make up the anatomical diameter of the muscle (the area of a cross section of a muscle made perpendicular to its length).
There is also such an indicator as the physiological diameter (a cross section of a muscle, perpendicular to its fibers).
The value of the physiological diameter affects the strength of the muscle. The larger the physiological diameter, the greater the force will be inherent in the muscle.
During physical activity, the diameter of the muscle increases, this is called working muscle hypertrophy.
Working muscle hypertrophy is present when there is an increase in the volume of muscle fibers. With a strong thickening of the fibers, splitting into several new fibers with a common tendon can occur. Working hypertrophy occurs in he althy people with enhanced function of a human tissue or organ. For example, this is human skeletal muscle hypertrophy.
Causes of muscle hypertrophy
Muscle hypertrophy, in most cases, is caused by regular physical activity. However, the amount of calories consumed also affects the increase in muscle mass. If there are not enough calories, large muscle volume will not be achieved.
Associated with the achievement of the required muscle volume, that is, there is muscle hypertrophy, the reasons for which are based on the following principles:
- A constant load is needed on all types of muscles, the volume of which needs to be increased.
- Load time is selected individually. Don't stick to standards. You need to exercise as much as the body allows,however, not to the point of complete exhaustion.
- Do not cause exhaustion of the nervous system, work with concentration, calmly and judiciously.
- Muscle pain may occur during the initial stages of training, but this should not be an excuse to stop exercising.
There must also be a complete and balanced diet, plenty of fluids to maintain the body's water balance.
Increased masticatory muscles
Due to the "extra" movements of the jaw, hypertrophy of the masticatory muscles may appear. The lower jaw of a person is pressed against the upper jaw due to the masticatory muscles. They consist of two parts and are located on both sides of the jaw. The muscle begins at the lower edge of the zygomatic arch and ends at the outer surface of the lower branch.
Hypertrophy of the masticatory muscles causes a violation in the visual harmonious combination of the upper and lower parts of the face, and also causes pain in the masticatory muscles. The face becomes "square" or extended downwards. Muscle hypertrophy occurs due to an increase in the load on them.
Hypertrophy of masticatory muscles can provoke:
- bruxism - teeth grinding;
- constantly clenched jaws, even to the point of erasing teeth;
- pain in chewing muscles.
Correction of masticatory muscles
With hypertrophy of the masticatory muscles, a disproportion of facial features appears in a person. In this case, there may also be a constant pain syndrome in the jaw area. To fix thisimbalance, a person needs to see a specialist to receive medical treatment. In order for muscle hypertrophy to pass, treatment must be started on time.
During treatment, a special drug is injected into the masticatory muscle, in three or four places, which relaxes the muscle and causes local muscle relaxation. After a few days, the effect is visible, which will last for about six months.
Hypertrophy of the heart muscle
There are cases when there is a pathological increase in the heart, mainly due to an increase in the thickness of the heart muscle - myocardium.
Hypertrophy of the left side of the heart is more common than the right.
Hypertrophy of parts of the heart may appear when:
- congenital or acquired heart defects;
- hypertension;
- intense physical activity;
- metabolic disorders, including obesity;
- sharp stress when leading a sedentary lifestyle.
Symptoms of cardiac muscle hypertrophy
Slight hypertrophy of the heart muscle does not cause any changes in a person's well-being and may go unnoticed. The higher the stage of the disease, the more pronounced the symptoms of the disease. One of the best options for diagnosing the disease is an ultrasound of the heart.
The presence of this disease can be assumed by the presence of the following symptoms:
- breathing hard, breathing difficult;
- chest pain;
- fastfatigue;
- unstable heart rate.
Provoke ventricular hypertrophy can high blood pressure. The heart begins to work faster, the blood in the heart begins to press harder on the walls, thereby expanding and enlarging the heart and reducing the elasticity of the walls. This leads to the impossibility of the heart to work in the previous mode.
Treatment of cardiac hypertrophy
At the initial stage, cardiac hypertrophy is amenable to drug treatment. Diagnosis is carried out in order to identify the cause that provoked the development of hypertrophy, and its elimination begins. If, for example, the disease has developed due to a sedentary lifestyle and excess weight, then a person is prescribed small physical activity and his diet is adjusted. Products are introduced in accordance with the principles of he althy eating.
If ventricular hypertrophy has reached a large size, surgery is performed and the hypertrophied area is removed.
Muscle wasting
Hypertrophy and muscle atrophy are opposite concepts in meaning. If hypertrophy means an increase in muscle mass, then atrophy means its decrease. The fibers that make up the muscle that do not receive a load for a long time become thinner, their number decreases and, in severe cases, may disappear altogether.
Muscle atrophy can be caused by various negative processes in the human body, both hereditary and acquired. This could be, for example:
- metabolic disorder;
- consequenceendocrine diseases;
- complication after infectious disease;
- intoxication of the body;
- enzyme deficiency;
- prolonged postoperative muscle rest.
Treatment of muscle atrophy
The effectiveness of treatment depends on the stage of the disease. If the changes in the muscles are significant, it will not be possible to fully restore them. The cause that caused muscle atrophy is diagnosed, and appropriate medication is prescribed. In addition to medical treatment, it is definitely recommended:
- physiotherapy exercises;
- physiotherapy;
- electrotreatment.
To keep the muscles in good shape, a massage is prescribed, which should be done regularly.
Treatment is aimed at stopping destructive actions in the muscles, relieving symptoms and improving metabolic processes in the body.
Mandatory presence of good nutrition containing all the necessary vitamin elements.
Conclusion
Thus, we can conclude that in order to obtain hypertrophy of skeletal muscles, it is necessary to make significant physical efforts. If this is done to achieve a beautiful body with pronounced muscle mass, then the person will be required to perform regular strength exercises. At the same time, his diet should be built on the principles of proper nutrition.
However, there is a possibility of getting unwanted muscle hypertrophy, which poses a threat to human he alth, this is: hypertrophycardiac muscle and chewing muscles. In most cases, the appearance of these diseases is associated with deviations and disorders of the human body. Therefore, timely diagnosis and control over one's he alth is necessary to prevent the onset and development of the disease.
A he althy lifestyle and proper nutrition will help a person stay in good physical shape and avoid possible he alth problems.
