STT Tone Flashcards
Soft Tissue Tension
Abnormally increased or excessive unnecessary muscle tone
Muscle Tone
resistance of a relaxed muscle to passive stretch or elongation
Active Tone
contractile activity is minimal in relaxed, normally innervated healthy muscle tissue (CNS stimulated muscle contraction)
Human resting muscle tension (HRMT)
vital low-level, passive tension, and resistance to stretch that makes an important contribution to maintenance of postural stability in balance equilibrium positions or when body is supported against gravity
Muscle Tension
increase in tone that is present w/ painful, dysfunctional muscles
Hypertonicity
abnormally increased area of local tone or excessive muscle tone due to upper motor neruon disorders (includes spasticity - increased tone in response to stretch and rigidity – continuous contraction)
Causes of STT
- overruse
- fatigue
- chilling of fatigued muscles
- local tissue ischemia
- pain & referred pain
Signs & Symptoms of STT
- mm tightness/stiffness
- possible pain w/ use/at rest/on palpation
- decreased ROM of jts
- decreased strength
- increased mm tone/STT
- ischemia
Observation of STT
- posture/gait
- gurading
- breathing patterns (shallow)
- functional restrictions (apley’s)
- circulatory changes (skin colour)
- hypertrophy/atrophy
Palpation for STT
- dense, hardness, loss of pliability
- pain/tenderness on palpation
- likely find trigger points
- tissue is cool d/t ischemia
Movement for STT
- may affect both AROM & PROM
- gait/ADL compensations
Treatment Goals for STT
- decrease MF restrictions
- decrease mm tension/tone/TP’s
- prevent atrophy
- restore or increase pliability
- increase mm, length/extensibility
- increase local circulation
- increase RR
CI’s for STT
- decreasing a protective muscle spasm
- meds (relative)
Treatment for STT
- sedating techniques
- NMT to decrease tone/adhesions
- MFR to decrease adhesions
- TP release
- indirect non-swedish techniques
- circulatory techniques to increase tissue health
- prevent strength loss via AROM
- facilitated stretching (PNF or contract/relax)
Hydro for STT
- heat to increase pliability
- contrast to increase tissue health
- ice to decrease inflammation
