Question

Describe 1 physiological cause of muscle fatigue.

Answer 1

Muscle fatigue is caused as a result of reduced ability of a muscle to contract. A muscle may not be able to contract because of shortage of substrates within the muscle fiber. ATP acts a substrate for muscle contraction. Depletion of ATP occurs during exercise, which reduces the ability of muscle to contract.

There may be another reason for the decreased ability of a muscle to contract. It may be due to the accumulation of metabolites within the muscle fiber that interfere either with the release of calcium ions or with the ability of calcium to stimulate muscle contraction.