Increased limb muscle tone
There are two types of spasticity. Spastic hypertonicity is accompanied by cone-shaped bundle damage, and spinal cord reflexes are facilitated. When a patient's joints are passively moved, a sense of impedance appears under the condition of increased muscle tone. This sense of impedance is related to the speed of being moved. When the muscle in the shortened state is stretched quickly, it immediately causes contraction and feels convulsed. When it is stretched to a certain extent, the resistance suddenly disappears, which is called the increase in the tension of the knife-like muscle. Spastic muscle tone is not related to "spasm," which refers to an involuntary muscle contraction. The increase in tonic muscle tone is seen in special tension changes in some extrapyramidal diseases. The increase in muscle tone is selective. The upper limbs are mainly adductor, flexor and pronator, and the lower limbs are dominated by increased extensor muscle tone. The resistance of patients with passive exercise is generally less than that of spastic, but it has nothing to do with the length of the muscle, that is, the contracted shape, and there is no difference between the extensor and flexor muscles. No matter what the speed, amplitude and direction of the action, they will all encounter the same resistance. This increase in muscle tone is called lead-like rigidity. If there is an alternating loose and tight change caused by tremor, it is called gear-like rigidity.
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