Muscles are organs made up of contractile fibers.
From the Latin musculus , a muscle is an organ made up of contractile fibers ( muscle fibers ). They may be related to the skeleton ( skeletal muscles ) or be part of the structure of organs or apparatus ( visceral muscles ).
The human body has about 650 muscles of different types, which are wrapped by a membrane known as aponeurosis . Muscles are the organs with the greatest adaptability, since their shape and content can be modified to a great degree. By doing physical exercise , for example, muscles can be developed and strengthened.
Muscles perform several functions. They are responsible for producing movement , providing joint stability, maintaining posture, transforming mechanical energy into chemical energy, providing heat, stimulating blood vessels and reporting on the physiological state of the body, among other activities.
Classification and diseases of muscles
Depending on their location, muscles can be cutaneous (they are located immediately under the skin) or deep (they have at least one bony insertion). Depending on their shape, there are circular or sphinerian muscles and square muscles .
Another classification of muscles occurs according to their nature. In this case, we can talk about striated muscles (voluntary control and very slow contraction), smooth muscles (involuntarily controlled, they do not contain striations) and cardiac muscles (involuntary control and modified striated nature).
Muscles can suffer from various diseases , which are known as myopathies . These disorders can have various causes and must be treated in different ways. Among them are muscular dystrophies, atrophies, inflammatory myopathies, myasthenia and certain tumors.
Boxers and other athletes are characterized by the development of their muscles.
Vigorexia disorder
There is a disorder known as vigorexia, muscle dysmorphia or reverse anorexia and it usually manifests itself in people who have a large muscle mass but who see themselves in an underdeveloped way; It is worth mentioning that, although it is a more common disease in men, some women also suffer from it.
Vigorexics convince themselves that they do not have a sufficiently developed body and condemn themselves to excessive physical training (mostly lifting weights and devices to enlarge the muscles) in order to tone and expand their muscles. It is worth mentioning that they are usually people who have suffered from an eating disorder or with a past marked by physical and psychological abuse .
Obsession with muscles
It is a disorder related to OCD ( obsessive- compulsive disorder) and is considered the opposite of anorexia , because individuals want to become strong, instead of decreasing their body size; They see themselves smaller than they are and are obsessed with gaining weight and correcting their imperfections. In short, it is a distortion of their perception of themselves .
This disease causes severe problems in the lives of these people, affecting their personal relationships, their physical health, their habits and their way of understanding the world and feeling their own emotions. Furthermore, if it is not detected and treated in time, it can cause damage to the muscles due to the overexertion to which they are exposed, depression and other problems caused by the consumption of steroids.
The way in which this disease is combated is through therapy and, in the case of the presence of other diseases derived from it such as depression , with psychiatric medication that collaborates with the comprehensive recovery of the individual. It is important that those who suffer from it are treated by professionals as quickly as possible.