Higher Muscle Passive Stiffness in Parkinson's Disease Patients Than in Controls Measured by Myotonometry

Parameters Representing Muscle Tone, Elasticity and Stiffness of Biceps Brachii in Healthy Older Males: Symmetry and Within-Session Reliability Using the MyotonPRO

“…The higher stiffness values obtained during the present study (235.04 ± 4.33 N/m) compared to the healthy controls in the study by Marusiak et al [15], might be attributed to gender differences [36] or position of the forearm or probe application, and highlights the importance of producing definitive reference values for …”

“…resting tone, can now be measured objectively but it may not be the most informative parameter in all situations. For example, greater muscle stiffness was found in patients with Parkinson's disease than in healthy controls [15], which might be expected from subjective clinical assessment. Much research is needed to determine the relative importance of the different parameters (tone, stiffness and elasticity) measured using the Myoton technology in different conditions.…”

“…Published BB values for stiffness in healthy females was compared to age-matched patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), where significantly higher values were recorded in PD (203 ± 22 N/m vs. 192 ± 8 N/m, p=0.004) [15]. The higher stiffness values obtained during the present study (235.04 ± 4.33 N/m) compared to the healthy controls in the study by Marusiak et al [15], might be attributed to gender differences [36] or position of the forearm or probe application, and highlights the importance of producing definitive reference values for …”

“…Although the basic principle of testing remains the same, some differences are detailed in the Methods section. Myoton technology has been examined for the assessment of muscle in neurological conditions, including Parkinson's disease [15] and stroke [16,17]. The technology is potentially useful for aiding assessment of muscle dysfunction and monitoring the effects of treatment on muscle tone and rigidity (elasticity), which are important impairments in the case of stroke and Parkinson's disease respectively.…”

“…New measures of muscular properties are being developed, offering an in vivo, objective, clinical, non-invasive alternative to subjective assessments. These include tensiomyography or TMG, which uses electrical stimulation to elicit muscle oscillations to measure contraction time and muscle displacement [7]; various devices that measure tissue stiffness, such as muscle 'hardness' meters [8], myotonometry, which compresses (≥ 1 ≤ 2 seconds) the muscle to record tissue displacement [9,10], and a mechano-acoustic indentor system that records tissue displacement to measure non-linear elastic properties [11]; and the recently introduced Myoton technology, which elicits mechanically induced oscillations [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. The different technologies have their relative advantages.…”