Myofascial force transmission and tendon transfer for patients suffering from spastic paresis: A review and some new observations

Muscle-specific changes in length-force characteristics of the calf muscles in the spastic Han-Wistar rat

“…muscle spasticity; mechanical properties; myofascial force transmission; muscle stiffness MUSCLE SPASTICITY HAS BEEN defined as a "velocity-depended resistance to stretch" (24) and arises secondary to upper motoneuron lesions with cerebral palsy and stroke as the most common examples (12). Individuals suffering from spasticity typically experience muscle weakness, enhanced joint stiffness, increased muscle tone, reduced range of joint motion, increased antagonistic co-contraction, and exaggerated reflexes (1,3,6,12,13,32,41,48). These effects severely impair the ability to perform daily activities, and treatment is often needed.…”

Effects of firing frequency on length-dependent myofascial force transmission between antagonistic and synergistic muscle groups

“…In human patients suffering from spastic paresis, such load becomes very apparent after tenotomy of the flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU) muscle. As the wrist is moved from palmar flexion, the tenotomized passive or active FCU is lengthened, despite the fact that FCU no longer crosses the wrist (Kreulen et al 2003;Smeulders and Kreulen 2007). These results indicate that extending the wrist causes a distally directed force to be exerted onto FCU, presumably by straining of the neurovascular tract or other myofascial connections.…”

“…Key in understanding such interaction is the fact that the transmission of muscle force via myofascial pathways is inherent to the integration of muscles within a higher level of tissue organization. Therefore, any muscle in vivo may be affected by myofascial force transmission, and considering myofascial structures as co-determinants of muscle force has already proven to be successful in human tendon transfer surgery (Smeulders and Kreulen 2007).…”

Fascia Research II: Second International Fascia Research Congress

“…Mechanical connections between a muscle and synergistic muscles have been the subject of many years of investigation by Huijing, a key speaker from the 2007 Fascia Congress, and two of the four papers in this section (Kreulen et al, (5) and Huijing (6) ) come from his research group. Maas and Sandercock (3) suggest that the existence of these connections does not mean that, in normal physiologic conditions, they are active, because these authors find that the soleus muscle in the cat (a single-joint muscle) acts mechanically independently of the neighboring muscles that cross both the ankle and the knee.…”

“…(1,2) The biomechanics of these connections and the potential applications for human surgery is the second area in which papers are presented. (3)(4)(5)(6) The spotlight then moves to the cellular and histologic levels, (7)(8)(9)(10) looking in detail at how individual cells respond to mechanical forces. (11,12) …”