[Archive – March 27, 2012]
“It is not so important whether the main emphasis is placed on muscles, soft tissues, chain reaction, or central nervous motor disregulation; what is crucial is that each treatment approach emphasizes the need to analyze and treat the whole body, rather than restricting attention wrongly to only one structure or segment.”
Pr Janda wrote a chapter, Differential Diagnosis of Muscle Tone in Respect of Inhibitory Techniques in the book Back Pain, An International Review, Paterson JK, Burn L (eds). Kluwer Acad Press, London 1990 p196-9. Also, similar ideas in Muscle Spasm- A Proposed Procedure for Differential Diagnosis. J Man Med 1991;6:136-139.
“Increased muscle tone can occur as a result of
1. Dysfunction of the limbic system
2. Impaired function at the segmental (interneuron) level
3. Impaired coordination of muscle contraction (trigger points?)
4. Response to pain irritation
5. Overuse (which is usually combined with changed elasticity of the muscle and usually described as muscle tightness)
This is also described in my MRT chapter of ROS p408-413.
What are the implications of Pr Janda’s classification and the use of mobility tests to drive treatment decisions?
