- Author, Rafael Abuchaibe
- Role, BBC News Mundo
- Twitter, @abuchaibe7
Na muscle pipo sabi am to be in general, but e dey of great importance. And not only becos e dey essential for standing and walking.
Di soleus, dey located in di lower part of di calf, na one of those important organs wey no be only to keep us upright, but also contain two important veins inside wey dey play key role in blood circulation.
Dis na why many don define am as “second heart”.
Part of wetin make am special na im composition, as Dr. Carles Pedret, one specialist for di School of Sports Medicine at di University of Barcelona, explain to BBC Mundo.
“Well first of all, e dey very big,” im tok, “e get lot of muscle mass.” “And e dey mainly composed of wetin be pure muscle tissue and not so much connective tissue as e dey in oda muscles.”
Skip Recommended articles and continue reading
Recommended articles
Nigerian nurses lament over di new NCMN nursing certificate verification wey fit affect dia japa
Blood test fit show if pesin organs dey age fast or slowly - Scientists
Wetin goment promise to do for resident doctors within 24 hours
Wetin you need sabi about weak penis
End of Recommended articles
And dis dey related to di function.
Stability
Wia dis foto come from, Getty Images
"Di soleus dey essential for any activity wey involve standing or walking," Dr. Marc Hamilton, from di University of Houston, for Texas, explain give BBC Mundo.
Depending on dia function, di muscles of di body dey made up of different types of fibres.
For di muscles wey dey maintain di structure of your body, such as those deep in your back and keeping your spinal column upright, di body dey use slow-twitch fibres. Dis na fibres wey no dey made for sudden movements, dem get great resistance wey fit allow dem stay contracted for hours wit few symptoms of fatigue.
Na wetin dey allow you to stand or walk for long periods of time.
On di oda hand, muscles dey for your hands, legs or arms, wey contain fast-acting fibres, i.e , fibres wey dey contract and relax almost instantly to achieve di large number of movements of wey we dey capable.
Di soleus, as structural muscle wey dey help you stay upright, get large composition of slow-twitch tissue, something wey make am capable of generating large amounts of energy without plenti tiredness as much.
“Di soleus get large amount of muscle fibre and di muscle fibre get element wey be key for di creation of energy - di mitochondria. Becos of di large amount of mitochondria we see wen we stimulate am, e dey generate large amount of energy,” Dr. Pedret explain
Na dis density of fibers wey make dis muscle, e represent only 1% of body weight, e get much greater energy capacity dan many oda organs for di body.
Pumping system
Wia dis foto come from, Getty Images
Di soleus also get a very particular function: e dey help di heart for im job of pumping blood around di body.
Dr. Hamilton explain to BBC Mundo how di process dey work: “Di anatomy of di soleus dey different from oda muscles”.
“Inside your calves, e get some big veins wey dey inside your soleus, and those veins dey dia for good reason.”
“If you tink about am, gravity dey cause blood to pool for your calves and ankles and feet. Na problem wey dey happun to adult people, but even to young pipo.”
“But wise nature put these veins inside di soleus so dem go fit compress am wen di muscle contract. Wen you compress dem, those veins go fill and empty and send di fluid back to di heart.”
Basically, wit every step you take, you dey push di blood wey dey in your legs back to di heart. Dis system, also include several veins for di foot and gastrocnemius muscles, wey dem sabi as di popliteal pump.
Good maintenance
Wia dis foto come from, Getty Images
Like all muscles for di body, di soleus need work to stay healthy. But unlike di work wey we dey subject di fast twitch muscles to, di one of soleus must dey slower and more constant.
For Dr. Pedret, di ideal job workout na walking: “Di tendency na for everyone to believe say by strengthening and working di soleus muscle very well go make am healthier. And na precisely muscle wey due to im characteristics, wetin e need na di opposite of all dat. Dat na to say wetin e require na sustained activity, but without stressing am too much”.
“Therefore, wetin e require na simply work. You no fit leave am still. Rest, sedentary lifestyle dey bad for am, but also overexposure to forceful work also affect am.”
Na di golden rule wen e come to our muscles, wey scientists increasingly link to di overall good functioning of our body.
“Wetin I always tok be say pipo dey attribute good quality of life in old age to wen dem get good mental health, and na di total truth, but di best quality of life dey provided by good muscle tone,” Pedret tok.
“In oda words, working di muscles constantly get great number of benefits for di correct maintenance of di body.
"Maintaining good muscle activity and good muscle tone dey make di entire metabolic system work beta. E dey lower di risk of diseases. Di brain also work beta, therefore, dem go also get less risk of dementia, i.e, di quality of mental health go improve".
