1.3 - Connective Tissue (Stretching)
Description
This article is from the Stretching FAQ, by Brad Appleton Brad_Appleton@ivhs.mot.com with numerous contributions by others.
1.3 - Connective Tissue (Stretching)
Located all around the muscle and its fibers are "connective tissues".
Connective tissue is composed of a base substance and two kinds of protein
based fiber. The two types of fiber are "collagenous connective tissue" and
"elastic connective tissue". Collagenous connective tissue consists mostly
of collagen (hence its name) and provides tensile strength. Elastic
connective tissue consists mostly of elastin and (as you might guess from
its name) provides elasticity. The base substance is called
"mucopolysaccharide" and acts as both a lubricant (allowing the fibers to
easily slide over one another), and as a glue (holding the fibers of the
tissue together into bundles). The more elastic connective tissue there is
around a joint, the greater the range of motion in that joint. Connective
tissues are made up of tendons, ligaments, and the fascial sheaths that
envelop, or bind down, muscles into separate groups. These fascial
sheaths, or "fascia", are named according to where they are located in the
muscles:
"endomysium"
The innermost fascial sheath that envelops individual muscle fibers.
"perimysium"
The fascial sheath that binds groups of muscle fibers into individual
fasciculi (See "1.2 - Muscle Composition").
"epimysium"
The outermost fascial sheath that binds entire fascicles (See "1.2 -
Muscle Composition").
These connective tissues help provide suppleness and tone to the muscles.
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