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Abnormalities of Muscle Tone

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Disorders of Movement

Abstract

Muscle tone refers to the resistance to passive stretching of a joint. The tone is abnormal either because of increased (hypertonia) or decreased (hypotonia, atonia) resistance to such manipulation. These tone abnormalities are common to several neurological diseases and may occur in combination with other motor disturbances such as weakness, dystonia, parkinsonism and neuromuscular diseases. Abnormalities of muscle tone might also be inferred from pathological conditions altering the mechanical properties of muscles or joints.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurology Department, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK

    Davide Martino MD, PhD (Consultant Neurologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer)

  2. James J. and Joan A. Gardner Center for Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

    Alberto J. Espay MD, MSc (Associate Professor of Neurology)

  3. Division of Neurology, University of Toronto Morton and Gloria Shulman Movement Disorders Clinic and the Edmond J. Safra Program in Parkinson’s Disease Toronto Western Hospital, UHN, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Alfonso Fasano MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Medicine)

  4. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy

    Francesca Morgante MD, PhD (Assistant Professor Neurology)

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  1. Davide Martino MD, PhD
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  2. Alberto J. Espay MD, MSc
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  3. Alfonso Fasano MD, PhD
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  4. Francesca Morgante MD, PhD
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Martino, D., Espay, A.J., Fasano, A., Morgante, F. (2016). Abnormalities of Muscle Tone. In: Disorders of Movement. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-48468-5_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-48468-5_2

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