The purpose of this investigation was to investigate whether reduction in impulses arising from stretch of the quadriceps by restricting rapid knee flexion in early swing would affect inhibition of the H-reflex during swing. The contribution of afferent input arising from knee angular velocity to phase-dependent modulation of short-latency responses in the soleus was studied by simultaneously m...

OBJECTIVE To quantitatively evaluate the effect of motor nerve branch block and neurotomy of the soleus nerve on triceps surae spasticity, reviewing 2 cases. METHODS Beside clinical assessment, we carried out a quantitative measurement of the stiffness of the ankle flexor muscles. The path length of the phase diagram between elastic and viscous stiffness quantifies the reflex response to move...

Changes in reflex spinal pathways after stroke have been shown to affect motor activity in agonist and antagonist muscles acting at the same joint. However, only a few studies have evaluated the heteronymous reflex pathways modulating motoneuronal activity at different joints. This study investigates whether there are changes in the spinal facilitatory and inhibitory pathways linking knee to an...

BACKGROUND Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) may occur after trauma, usually to one limb, and is characterized by pain and disturbed blood flow, temperature regulation and motor control. Approximately 25% of cases develop fixed dystonia. Involvement of dysfunctional GABAergic interneurons has been suggested, however the mechanisms that underpin fixed dystonia are still unknown. We hypothesi...

It is still widely believed that exaggerated stretch reflexes and increased muscle tone in ankle plantar flexors contribute to reduced ankle joint movement during gait in children with cerebral palsy (CP). However, no study has directly measured stretch reflex activity during gait in these children. We investigated sensory feedback mechanisms during walking in 20 CP children and 41 control chil...

The relative contributions of hip and knee proprioceptors to the origination of extensor spasms were examined in 11 subjects with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). Ramp and hold extension and combined hip and knee oscillation movements were imposed to the right leg while the ankle was held in a static position by a custom-designed robot. Isometric joint torques of the hip, knee, and ankle and s...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relation between response to common peroneal nerve stimulation, timed to the swing phase of walking, and abnormal ankle movement and muscle activation patterns. METHOD Eighteen patients who took part had a drop foot and had had a stroke at least 6 months before the study Twelve age matched normal subjects were also studied. Response to stimulation was measured by ...

F responses were recorded from the surface of the tibialis muscle and medial aspect of the soleus muscle in 14 normal subjects. The persistence (that is the fraction of measurable F responses found with a series of supramaximal stimuli) and average F amplitudes (measured peak-to-peak and based on at least five F responses) were determined both at rest and with isometric contraction with the ank...

In a clinical setting, where motor-driven systems are not readily available, the major difficulty in the assessment of the stretch reflex lies in the control of passive limb displacement velocity. A potential approach to this problem arises from the use of manual sinusoidal movements (made by continuous alternating flexions and extensions) paced by an external stimulus. Unfortunately, there are...

Activity in three segmental pathways was compared in normal subjects, patients with spinal shock, and patients with established spinal spasticity. The Achilles tendon reflex (ATR) was used to estimate transmission in the Ia monosynaptic pathway. Evidence is produced implying that vibration activates motoneurones principally through a polysynaptic pathway. The tonic vibration reflex (TVR) was us...