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Asked by 543sprg52 to Stephanie, LauraAnne, Katy, Helen, Emilia, Dan, Andrew on 4 Nov 2016.
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Dan Gordon answered on 4 Nov 2016:
Hi. I think you mean burst/pop. Apologies if this is not what you mean. This sounds like a question relating to muscle damage. It is very unusual for muscles to be completely torn. However let us assume this is the case. Under these extreme conditions the protein structure that make up the muscle from the cellular (microscopic) level right up to the whole muscle level are pulled apart under extreme force. This also means that there is damage to the blood supply to the muscle. remember that the muscles have to be provided with the key nutrient for work is oxygen. They can work for sometime without this, but for example as I type this answer oxygenated blood is being pumped into my hands and fingers to provide the appropriate conditions for my fingers to operate.
So when you tear the muscle the capillary network and under very extreme conditions with very high forces the arterioles are physically pulled apart. this why you get a haematoma or bruising around the muscle. The muscle now tough is stiff because you have caused this dame, induced an inflammatory shock and caused a pooling of blood. Over time the muscle will start to repair, however what tends to happen is that the muscle fibres don’t always align themselves up correctly and so the muscle becomes stiffer and less compliant than before the damage.
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Emilia McAllister-Jepps answered on 6 Nov 2016:
Hi there, this is an interesting question!
The only time I have heard of a muscle bursting was through use of banned substances…there are probably some gory clips on youtube.
It is more common for muscles to tear or rupture, which can be common in some more physical sports.
There are instances however when we purposefully tear our muscles in order to promote them to grow and be stronger. This is a very basic way of describing what happens when we lift weights in order to make our muscles bigger and stronger.
When we lift heavy weights we damage the muscle fibres, they tear and then regrow. But when they regrow they are stronger, more robust and with the right kind of training can become larger.
This might not be quite what you were thinking, but I hope it is an interesting answer.
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LauraAnne Furlong answered on 7 Nov 2016:
you can youtube some gruesome videos of muscles and tendons rupturing and they look very sore :/
When the body detects damage to an area of muscle (this might be after a heavy training session, or it might be because of an injury), it triggers what we call an inflammatory response. Two stages happen, what we call the destruction/injury phase, and the repair/regeneration phase.
When the damage first happens, bits of the muscle will break and there will be bits of muscle debris all around the area. The first thing the body does is create a blood clot in the area, to try to stop the damage spreading further. There will be lots more blood rushing to the area which will make it red and hot, and it will be quite painful (unsurprisingly) as when the muscle gets damaged it releases chemicals which irritate the nerves around the area.
The release of those chemicals has a purpose though, as it is like a emergency call to what we call lymphocytes and macrophages to get them to come to the area and help fix the muscle. When these arrive, the cleanup of the area can start with the debris left by the injury removed. About 3-6 days after the injury, the muscle can start healing and fixing itself and as Dan as said, they don’t always fix themselves back the way they should. Muscles and tendon adapt to the forces you apply to them, so when a muscle is healing it is important you repair in the way you will later use it so that when it is fully healed, you don’t accidentally reinjure it.
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543sprg52 commented on :
THANKS