Physiological Principles of Sotai

Physiological
Principles
of Sotai
MUSCLE
FUNCTION
There are over 215 pairs of skeletal muscles in the human body.
Together, they make up about 40% of the body’s weight.
Skeletal muscle is the only type of muscle which is under voluntary

control, which means a person consciously controls its movements.
Almost all body movement, such as walking or holding things,

and every conscious physical action such as speaking, is
caused by skeletal muscle contraction.
Muscles produce movement, are essential to maintain posture and

generate heat. This heat is vital for maintaining normal body temperature.
Skeletal muscles are made up of many long fibers, bundled
together, and surrounded by a sheath called the epimysium.
The epimysium gives the muscle its shape and provides a surface
against which the surrounding muscles can move.
Fascia is the connective tissue outside the epimysium which surrounds and
separates muscles.
Most muscles are attached to bones by tendons.
Movement is caused when skeletal muscles contract and pull the tendon,
which in turn, causes the bones to move at the joints.
Muscles are grouped together in pairs.
Skeletal muscles only pull in one direction. When one muscle of a

pair contracts, the other relaxes.
When you bend your elbow, your biceps brachii muscle contracts and the
triceps brachii relaxes.
To straighten the arm, you need to do the opposite action, to

contract the triceps and relax the biceps.
The muscle that contracts is called the prime mover or agonist
In our example, when we bend the elbow, the biceps brachii is the
main agonist muscle.
The muscle that relaxes is called the antagonist. In this case, the triceps is
the antagonist muscle.
Prime movers are helped by other muscles called synergists

or stabilisers.
The brachioradialis assists the biceps to flex the elbow.

MUSCLE
REFLEXES
The Stretch Reflex
Skeletal muscles contain sensory receptors called muscle spindles,
which detect changes in the length of tissue.
The stretch or myotatic reflex is a process that causes a contraction of the

muscle, thereby stopping a stretch.
When a muscle is stretched, so are the muscle spindles. These

send signals to the spinal cord and a reflex occurs which
causes the muscle to contract.
The stretch reflex is a protective mechanism to prevent overstretching and

muscle fiber damage.
A major role of the myotatic reflex is the maintenance of posture.

Autogenic Inhibition
The tendons of skeletal muscles contain another type of sensory
receptors called Golgi tendon organs (GTO), which are sensitive to
muscle tension.
Autogenic inhibition is a process that causes the lengthening or relaxation

of the muscle.
When a muscle is contracted too hard, the GTO registers the

increasing tension in the tendon, and a reflex occurs which
causes the muscle to relax.
Autogenic inhibition is a protective mechanism to prevent the tearing of

muscles.
PAIN
MANAGEMENT
WITH SOTAI
EXERCISES
Muscle pain and spasms are spontaneous muscle contractions
which cause muscle shortening.
Muscle shortening produces pain by pulling on tendons.
Muscle shortening increases wear and tear and contributes to

degenerative changes such as tendonitis, bursitis and osteoarthritis.
When the muscles shorten, the bones are held together more tightly than
normal. This constriction, can cause pain and limit the range of motion or
flexibility.
Pain is more intense when stretching the shortened muscles.
Shortening causes an imbalance between agonist and antagonist muscles.

Because the agonist muscle is shortened, the antagonist muscle is
overstretched.
In sotai the movement is in the direction that does not cause
pain.
This means that we do not try to stretch or lengthen the contracted

or shortened muscles, because it would be painful.
So, instead, what the exercise does, is to contract further the shortened
muscle, and to stretch the overstretched muscle.
Since we push those movements to the limit - without pain, the

stretch and autogenic inhibition reflexes act.
The stretch reflex acts on the shortened muscle, and autogenic inhibition
acts on the overstretched muscle.
Nerve impulses will be sent to the agonist muscle
(which is shortened), to stretch, and to the antagonist muscle
(which is overstretched), to contract.
So we have achieved our aims without any pain.
The shortened muscle has lengthened. The overstretched muscle has

shortened.
We have increased the range of motion of the movement.
The movement can be done now with less pain. We have effectively
reduced the pain.
The muscles are more balanced.

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Physiological

Together, they make up about 40% of the body’s weight.

Skeletal muscle is the only type of muscle which is under voluntary

Almost all body movement, such as walking or holding things,

Muscles produce movement, are essential to maintain posture and

Most muscles are attached to bones by tendons.

Skeletal muscles only pull in one direction. When one muscle of a

To straighten the arm, you need to do the opposite action, to

Prime movers are helped by other muscles called synergists

The brachioradialis assists the biceps to flex the elbow.

The stretch or myotatic reflex is a process that causes a contraction of the

When a muscle is stretched, so are the muscle spindles. These

The stretch reflex is a protective mechanism to prevent overstretching and

A major role of the myotatic reflex is the maintenance of posture.

Autogenic inhibition is a process that causes the lengthening or relaxation

When a muscle is contracted too hard, the GTO registers the

Autogenic inhibition is a protective mechanism to prevent the tearing of

Muscle shortening produces pain by pulling on tendons.

Muscle shortening increases wear and tear and contributes to

Pain is more intense when stretching the shortened muscles.

Shortening causes an imbalance between agonist and antagonist muscles.

This means that we do not try to stretch or lengthen the contracted

Since we push those movements to the limit - without pain, the

So we have achieved our aims without any pain.

The shortened muscle has lengthened. The overstretched muscle has

We have increased the range of motion of the movement.

The muscles are more balanced.

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