more midterm Flashcards
what is a spasm
involuntary muscle contraction
describe reflex muscle guarding
a spasm in response to an acute injury, muscle guarding is a protective mechanism to help split the injury to prevent further muscle tearing or injury
can also be a response from referred pain
spasm will go away when pain goes away
you would use ICE
do not fully remove spasm during acute/early subacute
treat compensatory structures and decrease SNS firing is the main treatment goals
describe intrinsic muscle spasm
part of a self perpetuating pain cycle
can result from direct or indirect trauma, inflammation or infection
increase in SNS firing and emotional stress - due to not knowing exactly how the spasm started
cold or chilling of tissue can lead to spasm
the contraction restricts movement in a joint crossed by the muscle
the lack of movement causes ischemia and metabolite build up which in turn irritate nerve endings resulting in pain
what is muscle tone
the resistance of a relaxed muscle to passive stretch or elongation
includes both of the resistance of the muscles and CT to palpation and the active but not continuous contraction of muscle in response to the stimulation of the nervous system
what is muscular tension
muscle held in a sustained contraction
what is hypertonicity
abnormally high tone seen with upper motor neuron disorders
fasicles–> muscle fibres –> myofibrils
each myofibril contains actin and myosin filaments arranged in units called sarcomeres
what are sarcomeres
the basic contractile units of muscle fibres
myosin slides over actin, the heads from myosin bond to actin and act as oars to move the filaments past eachother creating a power stroke
numerous power strokes are require for actin and myosin to slide past eachother and shorten the sarcomere
shortening the sarcomere causes contractions
what initiates a muscle contraction
calcium and ATP is used for energy
action potentials stimulates release of calcium
what causes a spasm
action potential stimulates release of calcium initiating a contraction, when the action potential stops the calcium is recovered by the sarcoplasmic reticulum and contraction ceases
in a spasmodic muscle the contraction continues
golgi tendon organs are sesntiive to what
tension in a muscle
when they fire they inhibit contraction of the muscle attached to the tendon containing them and protect the muscle from an overstretch injury
causes of a spasm
pain
circulatory stasis
vit d deficiency
impaired nutrition
increased gamma firing due to stress
chilling of a muscle
avoid passively stretching an acutely spasmodic muscle
especially true when inflammation is present because the stretching will increase the pain and mm guarding resulting in more damage
massage is CI’d w DVT
the client may complain of calf tightness
we need to check for heat, tenderness and swelling
why heat for a intrinsic chronic spasm
heat increases local circulation and flushes out metabolites
when are latent trigger points more common to occur
in a more sedentary lifestyle or later on in life
when do active trigger points occur
with more physcial active lifestyles
where can trigger points occur
fascia
tendons
ligaments
joint capsules
periosteum
what is a local twitch response
a transient contraction of the taut band in mm w trigger point
response occurs when taut band is palpated transversely and responds to pressure by twitching
what does the autonomic phenomena include
vasomotor changes
what is a latent trigger point
pain only when palpated
prevents full muscle lengthening
can be reverted to an active trigger point if by referred pain, overuse, overtsretch, or chilling of muscle
what is a primary trigger point
directly activated by acute or chronic mechanical strain or overload of affected muscle
target this first
what is a secondary trigger point
activated in the overworked synergist or antagonist muscles
