ABSTRACT
Three portions of the Nervous System are extremely important for Amateur Wrestling. They are the motor system, the sympathetic Nervous System, and the parasympathetic Nervous System. The motor system sends impulses from the brain to the muscle and initiates muscle contraction. The sympathetic Nervous System allows for the activation of the body’s systemic “fight or flight” reaction which prepares the body for “fight or flight” by a number of mechanisms, one of which is mobilizing energy stores and vasodilating the pre-capillary sphincters of skeletal muscle capillary beds (via epinephrine release). The parasympathetic Nervous System is called the “rest and digest” portion of the Nervous System and is important in the recovery from wrestling training and matches. The most important cell in the Nervous System is the neuron, while neuroglial cells provide a supporting role.
