Strength, or good strength ability, plays an important role in many sports and in numerous everyday activities. Some diseases can limit it significantly.
What is strength?
Strength or a good strength ability plays an important role in many sports and in numerous everyday activities. In sports science, strength is divided into 5 basic motor characteristics. Along with speed, endurance, coordination, and agility, strength is one of them. It can be divided into different types of stress. The term maximum force is one of them and describes the ability of the muscular system to apply the maximum possible force against an insurmountable resistance. The magnitude of the force depends on the muscle cross-section. The term rapid force defines the ability to generate the greatest possible movement impulse in the shortest possible time. This property is strongly determined by the fiber composition of the muscles. Reactive strength refers to the ability of the motor system to use the potential energy for the execution of movements, which is generated during the so-called stretch-shortening cycle. All properties function optimally only when the nerve-muscle interaction and metabolic systems are intact and sufficient energy is provided. Force is generated in the muscle by a contraction, which either results in a movement or leads to an increase in tension in the muscle. Accordingly, it can be divided into a dynamic and a static form. The dynamic concentric contraction form is characterized by the muscle shortening during contraction. In the dynamic eccentric form, the origin and attachment move away from each other during muscular work. In the isometric form, which is also possible, the length does not change.
Function and task
The force resulting from the summation of all contractions in the muscle cells is used either for stabilization, local movements, or locomotion of the entire body, as in walking or running. Resistance, as occurs when lifting loads or pushing weights away, increases the amount of force required. In everyday life, the situation often arises in which the core of the body is stabilized while the extremities move. This sensible functional distribution of tasks enables the body to be dynamic. Strength is required in many everyday, manual and sporting activities. In classic occupations involving heavy physical work, such as bricklayers, scaffolders, roofers or blacksmiths, high force requirements are always needed. The specific strength characteristics of people working in this field are significantly improved over time. In many sports, good strength skills play an important role, either as a building block alongside other basic motor skills, or as the main aspect. Weightlifters and other strength athletes need good maximum strength levels and stabilization skills, while dynamic sports disciplines tend to require the other strength components, especially quickness. Reactive strength is very important in all sports that involve lunging movements. The start of the movement can be made much more effective by utilizing the kinetic energy that has been stored in the elastic elements of the movement system through pre-stretching. This is the case in all sports that involve lunging movements, such as handball and volleyball, the backstroke games of tennis, squash and badminton, and the athletic throwing disciplines of discus, hammer and javelin. As part of the development of the fitness sector, strength training has now become a sporting discipline in its own right, which many people do in the gym, at the club or at home. Dynamic strength training can be divided into different types, which are applied according to personal goals or the needs of the particular sport. The classification is based on the required intensity of the strength demand, which is measured by the maximum strength value. Training is done in series with repetition numbers and pauses between the individual sets. The higher the intensity required, the smaller the number of repetitions and the longer the rest period. Strength endurance training improves the ability to perform movements with medium weights or resistance for longer periods of time, while hypertrophy and maximum strength training are more about building strength.Neuromuscular coordination training is the stress form with the highest intensity.
Diseases and ailments
All diseases that involve loss or reduction of strength abilities affect the activities for which strength is needed. Muscular atrophy is a degradation of muscles that occurs after prolonged periods of inactivity. This process can occur locally after prolonged immobilization of a body part, such as in a cast. However, it can also affect the entire skeletal musculature, as a result of prolonged immobility due to severe illness or injury. The intensity of the breakdown determines how long it takes to rebuild the muscles. In general, however, it can be said that muscle breakdown is very rapid, but rebuilding takes much longer. All neurological problems that result in incomplete or complete flaccid paralysis of muscles cause a significant reduction or total loss of the strength capabilities of the affected muscle. These conditions include peripheral lesions caused by injury, pressure damage, or disease of the nerves. Accidents, puncture wounds, or cuts can cause direct local nerve damage, while casts that are too tight or herniated discs cause indirect damage from pressure. Nerves of the extremities are most frequently affected by such processes, since they run relatively superficially. Typical examples are, on the arm, lesions of the radial nerve with the appearance of the drop hand or of the median nerve with the swear hand. On the leg, the most common is injury dse peroneal nerve with paralysis of the foot jacks. A serious injury with massive consequences is the usually traumatic severing of the spinal cord with complete or incomplete paraplegia. All muscles supplied by the nerves that lie below the paraplegia can develop little or no strength, depending on the severity. Everyday activities such as walking or hand activities can be massively restricted or even impossible as a result. One type of rare disease that leads to progressive loss of muscle function and strength is muscular dystrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. These are systemic conditions that result in a more or less rapid loss of strength of the entire skeletal musculature. With rapid progression, quality of life and social participation is very quickly impaired. Life expectancy may be significantly reduced by these conditions.
