The internal combustion engine. I could hardly believe that inside the microscopic mitochondria of each and every muscle cell in the body, the same principle of mechanical energy production is at play.

Ever since becoming a regular contributor to this newspaper some years ago, I have come to love writing, and as long as I have my trusted little netbook with me, I pride myself on being able to write anywhere, any time.

Indeed, some of these articles have orignated from typing away in some of the strangest of places. Waiting in line at the transport authority, on buses or trains, on the beach, on benches along our beautiful promenades by night, or right now, sitting in my car outside a mechanic’s workshop.

I suddenly heard an awful racket coming from the bonnet, so I stopped and opened it up, kidding myself I might even be able to identify the problem, let alone do something about it. Okay, it wasn’t that hard; a belt had suddenly started to fray and a piece of it was flapping about hitting other components.

I found a pair of scissors inside the car, cut off the flapping bit so it won’t become tangled in something else or otherwise damage something around it, and drove to the first mechanic I could find.

Of course, I have no idea what this belt is there for, or how serious the problem might be. As I sit here hopelessly unequipped to do anything about this machine upon which I rely so heavily, I cannot help but feel somewhat useless.

If this car was a human body, I might be a little more able to understand the predicament I’m in. If the frayed belt was a muscle or joint that has just sustained a sudden acute injury, I might know a little bit more about the severity of the problem, whether I could work around it and continue to drive until I got home, or better still, how to fix it.

There is something distinctly unnerving and stressful about car problems. They are extremely inconvenient and, worst of all, usually quite costly. So what’s the difference between a car and a human body? Just like a car, the human body is a complex machine that must be cared for and serviced.

The most beautiful characteristic of the human body and its most crucial difference to man-made machines is its remarkable ability to heal itself. If the problem is really serious, then we might need surgery to physically get in there and repair the part, but if it’s a minor problem, most of our interventions serve not as the remedies themselves but primarily to support and assist the natural healing process.

Just like a car, the human body is a complex machine that must be cared for and serviced

When injuries set in, we should always seek professional help because we never know just how serious the problem might be or what the implications are. The fact remains, however, that for minor problems the body itself does most of the work for us.

It has the remarkable ability to rebuild and repair itself. Its adaptive powers allow it to constantly change in response to the environment and external stimuli. And that is precisely one of the reasons exercise is so beneficial.

The body maximises its adaptive powers, its ability to change efficiently. Unfortunately however, leaving my car in the garage and giving it time to rest won’t make this problem go away. The part will obviously need to repaired or replaced.

I now fire up my netbook at another one of my favourite writing spots: a nearby cafe. The mechanic has opened up his workshop on time and graciously agreed to survey my problem. The belt, as it turned out, was somehow related to the air conditioner and power steering.

He generously offered some additional educational anecdotes about what the various other bits and bobs under the bonnet were for. I paid attention appreciatively.

The internal combustion engine: what a revolutionary miracle of human engineering. I could hardly believe that inside the microscopic mitochondria of each and every muscle cell in the body, the same principle of mechanical energy production is at play.

While our cars require a very specific type of fuel, we can eat pretty much any food we like and the body will automatically process it, refine it and break it down to the exact substance our cells need for fuel. That would be a bit like pouring pretty much any liquid into our petrol tanks and expecting our cars to treat and convert it into grade A petrol.

We essentially have millions of microscopic internal combustion engines inside each of our muscles, turning the food we eat into mechanical energy and heat.

And if that wasn’t ama-zing enough, when things go wrong, our bodies fix most of the problems automatically, often without us even knowing about it.

If our bodies are so much more beautiful than a car, isn’t a little time each week spent exercising worth it?

Installing a new belt under my car bonnet had turned out to be not even a five-minute job and I was thrilled the whole kerfuffle cost me under €20. To think I was tempted to scramble home and put it all off until later.

The golden rule when injury sets in is to stop immediately and rest. Pain is the body’s way of telling us something is wrong, so it’s up to us to get it checked out by a competent medical profes-sional, otherwise we make the problem worse.

Perhaps my knowledge of sport and the human body wasn’t so useless after all.

matthew.muscat.inglott@mcast.edu.mt