Contraction – Tension
(Pronounced kuhn-trak-shuhn)
You must think of muscle contraction as tension not shortening (contracting a muscle can be shortening, lengthening or remaining the same length in sports science). When contraction is used as a normal vocabulary word it does mean shorten but not in sports science or physical education.
To remember what contraction means remember the following mnemonic:
The building contractors (contraction) explain bridge tension and how it works.
![](/images/user/base/Maths/Logarithms/Reference%20Tables/reference-log-table-1.4df6ee6.jpg)
![](/images/user/base/Maths/Logarithms/Reference%20Tables/reference-log-table-2.d516bb3.jpg)
![](/images/user/base/Maths/Logarithms/Reference%20Tables/reference-anti-log-table-1.b0b0513.jpg)
![](/images/user/base/Maths/Logarithms/Reference%20Tables/reference-anti-log-table-2.f89189d.jpg)