contraction
Each muscle in the body is made up of cells called muscle fibers. Muscle fibers are long, thin cells that can do something that other cells cannot dothey are able to get shorter. Shortening of muscle fibers is called contraction . Muscle fibers can contract because they are made of proteins, called actin and myosin, that form long filaments or fibers . When muscles contract, these protein filaments slide or glide past one another, shortening the length of the cell. When your muscles relax, the length extends back to the previous position. Nearly all movement in the body is the result of muscle contraction.