Muscle contraction is the tightening, shortening, or lengthening of muscles when you do some activity. It can happen when you hold or pick up something, or when you stretch or exercise with weights.

A concentric contraction is a type of muscle activation that causes tension on your muscle as it shortens. As your muscle shortens, it generates enough force to move an object. This is the most ...

Using powerful new visualization technologies, researchers have captured the first 3-D images of the structure of a key muscle receptor, providing new insights on how muscles develop across the animal ...

Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) is a form of assisted stretching. It combines passive stretching with muscle contraction. First, your partner applies force to stretch your muscle ...

Medically reviewed by Jonathan Purtell, RDN Key Takeaways Because vinegar affects nerve receptors, pickle juice might stop muscle cramps faster than water.  Pickle juice may also help ease menstrual ...

You’re relaxing on the sofa when suddenly your eyelid starts twitching. Or perhaps it’s a muscle in your arm, your leg, or your foot that begins to spasm – sometimes for a few seconds, sometimes for ...

Muscles and nerve fibers allow a person to move their body and enable the internal organs to function. There are more than 600 muscles in the human body. People also have different types of muscle. A ...

In a serendipitous discovery, UC San Diego researchers using cryo-EM technology captured the first visualizations of the 3-D structure of the muscle acetylcholine receptor in fetal and adult muscles.