A neurobiomechanical approach to understanding the control of tone and posture

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1. Muscle tone and muscle stiffness
   1. Three sources of muscle stiffness

   2. Stiffness as resistance to elongation, the spring analogy

2. Soft tissue stiffness and the length-tension curve

3. Stiffness and damping; Elasticity and viscosity

4. Tissue stiffness influences posture
   1. "Stretch weakness" and "adaptive shortening"
      

   2. Equilibrium point between "agonist" and "antagonist"
      

5. Implications for treatment
   1. Producing change in an equilibrium point

   2. Changes in equilibrium points are frequently short-lived

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Last updated 12-22-99 ©Dave Thompson PT