As a massage therapist, it is vital to know the various parts of the human body and understand their meaning. Two terms you should know and understand are Golgi tendons and muscle spindle cells. As a massage therapist, it is important to know these two sensory neuron proprioceptors and what they do. The muscle spindle, for example, is a proprioceptor that transmits information about changes in muscle length. The Golgi tendon is a different type of proprioceptor that transmits information about changes in muscle tension. These two proprioceptors are important for stretching and conditioning muscles. Together they help protect the muscles from being overstretched and injured. First, however, it is important to know what each one is and its particular function.
What are sensory neurons?
Neurons are cells that work to carry messages throughout the body. The neurons are responsible for telling you to bend your toe or flex your foot. They also make sure you don’t overstretch a muscle or put too much stress on a tendon, thus preventing injury. Each neuron is made up of a cell body and nerve fibers. It is the nerve fibers that receive impulses from other neurons and then send that information to the cell body. The fibers then send the impulses out of the cell body to other neurons.
Golgi tendon organs and muscle spindle cells are sensory neurons called proprioceptors. These sensory neurons are located in nerves and tracts, but their cell bodies are located just outside the spinal cord. They move messages from the sensory organs in the tendons and muscles to the spinal cord. Some of these neural fibers are called proprioceptive fibers. These fibers monitor the way a muscle contracts and stretches, as well as measure the tension in a tendon and transmit that information to the spinal cord so that the information can be processed. This feedback allows the body to know the positions and postures of the limbs even when they cannot be seen.
What are Golgi tendons?
The Golgi tendon organs are located on the collagen fibers of the tendon at the point where the tendon fibers join with the muscle fibers. Although they function similarly to muscle spindle cells in that they measure muscle changes, they are only activated when there is a tendon contraction. They also monitor changes in muscle tension that come from a change in muscle length. When the tendon or muscle is overloaded, it sends a message to the muscle causing it to relax. This is important to prevent injuries.
What are muscle spindle cells?
The muscle spindle cells are located in the muscle fibers, parallel to them. Its function is to continuously monitor and measure muscle length, both when the muscle is at rest and when it is stretched, as well as the rate of changes in muscle length. The muscle spindle cell is located within the muscle, while the Golgi apparatus is located at the end of the muscle.
How the Golgi Tendon Organs and Muscle Spindle Cells Work Together
muscle spindle cells [http://www.think-diagonal.com/category/massage-therapy-bodywork/] they have a very efficient working relationship with the Golgi tendon organs. The muscle spindle controls changes in length and the speed of those changes within the muscle. It sends the message to the spinal column to transmit the information to activate the stretch reflex. This stretch reflex, by which the Golgi tendon organs are separated, tries to stop the change in length of the muscle. This is a protective feature of the human body that prevents injuries. The more the muscle tries to stretch and the faster it tries to stretch, the more the Golgi tendon organs cause it to contract. Over time, muscles can be trained so that the stretch reflex allows them to stretch further and further before contracting.
As a massage therapist, it is important that you understand how the Golgi tendon organs and muscle spindle cells work together to prevent muscle injury. As you work and stretch your client’s muscles, you need to pay attention to their body’s response. Learn to detect the extension and stretchability of the muscle spindle cells, but also learn to detect when the Golgi tendon organs begin to work to prevent injury. She then learns to work with that push and pull action to help lengthen the muscle and increase the ability of the muscle spindle cells to stretch the muscle until the Golgi tendon organs try to stop the stretch. This will help you prevent injuries to your client and help you work through sports injuries.