Muscle and Tendon Biomechanics

1. 📌 Essentials

• Tendons connect muscles to bones, enabling movement transmission.
• Collagen mainly type I, provides tensile strength in tendons.
• Connective tissue consists of cells embedded in an extracellular matrix.
• Tendons are inelastic;retching risks rupture.
• Muscle contraction pulls on tendons to move bones.
• Collagen's triple helix structure forms fibrils, fibers, and bundles.
• Ligaments connect bones, stabilizing joints.
• Tendons transmit force efficiently due to organized collagen architecture.
• Connective tissue types vary: dense regular, elastic, cartilage, bone, adipose.
• Tendon injuries often result from overstretching or overuse.

2. 🧩 Key Structures & Components

• Collagen fibers — main structural protein providing tensile strength.
• Tendon — collagen-rich tissue connecting muscle to bone.
• Muscle fibers — contractile units generating force.
• Ligaments — connect bones, stabilize joints.
• Extracellular matrix — surrounds cells, varies in stiffness.
• Fibrils, fibers, bundles — hierarchical organization of collagen.
• Bone — rigid structure acting as a lever for movement.
• Muscle-tendon-bone unit — functional system for movement.