Victor Forge
Muscle facilitation is a central nervous system process that involves the Motor Control Center (MCC) in the brain choosing the muscles to conduct movement. Facilitated muscles are those that are locked short and are excessively favoured by the nervous system to contract. This can lead to an imbalance where opposing muscle groups are constantly pulling against each other, resulting in both groups becoming weak. Physiotherapy and manual therapy can be used to retrain the brain to fire the correct muscles and restore proper health and functioning.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Definition | Facilitated muscles are those stuck in concentric contraction, and are overly favored by the nervous system to contract. |
| Occurrence | Muscle facilitation and inhibition occur in everyone. |
| Identification | It is difficult to identify facilitated muscles without being in tune with your body. A practitioner must assess whether there are inhibited and facilitated muscles and which muscles are affected. |
| Treatment | Physiotherapy and manual therapy can be used to get the muscles working again. Techniques include stroking, tapping, manual stimulation, neuro-muscular facilitation, and bio-feedback. |
| Exercise | Once the muscle is firing properly, exercises such as squats and lunges can be used to stabilize the muscle and increase strength. |
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What You'll Learn
- Facilitated muscles are stuck in concentric contraction
- Inhibition is caused by an improprietory perceived by the proprioceptors
- Facilitation is a central nervous system process
- Neural reconnection is a theory of brain-muscle communication
- Manual therapy can help restore the health of dysfunctional musculature
Facilitated muscles are stuck in concentric contraction
Muscle inhibition and facilitation is a process that occurs in everyone, causing pain and dysfunction. It is important to note that the terms "facilitated" and "inhibited" muscles refer to specific states of muscle contracture. Facilitated muscles are those that are "stuck" in concentric contraction, while inhibited muscles are stuck in eccentric contraction. This means that facilitated muscles are locked short, while inhibited muscles are locked long.
In the context of massage and bodywork, therapists work to determine when a muscle is stuck in an improper contracture. This involves assessing the contracture patterns of fascia, ligaments, tendons, and muscles, which can differ among these types of tissues. For example, a generalized eccentric stretch may not be the appropriate treatment for fascia. Instead, addressing the ligaments, which are proprioceptors, is necessary to understand their relevance to movement before tendons and muscles are treated.
The concept of muscle facilitation and inhibition also relates to the role of the nervous system in recruiting musculature for postural patterns. Overly facilitated muscles are excessively favored by the nervous system to contract, resulting in a constant pull on the inhibited musculature. This causes the inhibited muscles to increase their tone to counter the facilitated muscles, leading to both groups of muscles becoming weak. As a result, manual therapy should be applied to both dysfunctional musculature groups to restore proper health and functioning.
To address facilitated muscles that are stuck in concentric contraction, physiotherapy techniques such as stroking, tapping, and manual stimulation can be used to retrain the muscles. Additionally, neuro-muscular facilitation with a small muscle stimulator or bio-feedback techniques can be employed to retrain the brain to activate the correct muscle properly. Once the muscle is firing correctly, exercise progressions can be introduced to stabilize the muscle and improve strength and stability.
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Inhibition is caused by an improprietory perceived by the proprioceptors
Muscle inhibition and facilitation is a central nervous system process that occurs in everyone, causing pain and dysfunction. It is often a constant companion rather than a start-and-stop condition. While it may be challenging for individuals to identify inhibited and facilitated muscles, a practitioner can assess and determine the presence and patterns of inhibition and facilitation.
In the context of inhibition, proprioceptors alter movement patterns. This alteration can occur due to an inhibited muscle or the mind's perception of trauma. Overuse injuries, spinal rotation impairments, imbalances in spine curvatures, and instability in the pelvis or feet can all contribute to this inhibition aspect, disrupting the body's neutral posture.
To address inhibited muscles, physiotherapy techniques such as stroking, tapping, manual stimulation, neuro-muscular facilitation, and bio-feedback are employed. These techniques aim to retrain the muscles and restore proper nerve communication between the brain and skeletal muscle, known as neural reconnection. However, it is important to note that the theory of musculo-neural reconnection is debated among medical professionals due to insufficient objective scientific evidence.
Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that the concept of muscle facilitation and inhibition is extensively discussed among massage and bodywork professionals. They explore the relationship between facilitated and inhibited muscles, considering both front-to-back and side-to-side interactions. Understanding and addressing muscle imbalances are crucial in therapeutic settings.
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Facilitation is a central nervous system process
Muscle facilitation is a central nervous system process that occurs in everyone. It involves the Motor Control Centre (MCC) in the brain, which chooses the muscles used to conduct movement of the human skeleton. The MCC develops functional movement patterns through vectors of muscle force, or kinetic chains, rather than individual muscles.
When a muscle is inhibited, the brain's electrical communication with it is incomplete or goes unanswered. This can be caused by an impropriety perceived by the proprioceptors, which alter movement patterns. Overuse injuries, an inability to rotate the spine, curvatures of the spine, and instability in the pelvis or feet can all alter the body's neutral posture and impair the neurological law of facilitation. In this case, nerves that would not normally alter a movement pattern are called on to facilitate movement in a method of comfort.
Muscle facilitation can be used to describe when a muscle is stuck in concentric contraction. It can also be used to describe a muscle that is locked short, tight, and overly favoured by the nervous system to contract. When a muscle is facilitated, it is being excessively used by the body to compensate for an inhibited muscle.
Physiotherapy can be used to get muscles working again through techniques such as stroking, tapping, manual stimulation, neuro-muscular facilitation, and bio-feedback. These techniques can retrain the brain to know when the correct muscle is working and to fire the muscle properly. Once the muscle is firing properly, more difficult exercises can be introduced to stabilise the muscle and increase strength.
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Neural reconnection is a theory of brain-muscle communication
To compensate, the brain chooses other muscles to perform the movement, which may be near the primary muscle or farther away. This is an example of neural reconnection, where the brain learns by first failing. During a treatment, a practitioner can apply this theory to get the brain to relearn proper muscle patterns and choose the correct muscles instead of looking elsewhere.
Neural reconnection is not a specific type of therapy but rather a term for any manual therapy that aims to restore proper nerve communication between the brain and skeletal muscle. It is a variation of treating muscles and fascia of the human body using a simplified motor control theory of brain-muscle communication. While the theory of neural reconnection is highly debated among medical professionals due to insufficient scientific evidence, many practitioners believe there is enough subjective evidence to warrant its application in practice.
Muscle inhibition and facilitation occur in everyone, regardless of their activity level, and can cause pain and dysfunction. Physiotherapy and other techniques can be used to retrain muscles and improve brain-muscle communication. For example, neuro-muscular facilitation uses a small muscle stimulator, while bio-feedback retrains the brain to know when the correct muscle is working.
In summary, neural reconnection is a theory of brain-muscle communication that involves compensating for inhibited muscles by choosing alternative muscles to perform movements. This theory has led to the development of various therapies aimed at restoring proper nerve communication between the brain and skeletal muscles. While the theory is controversial due to a lack of scientific evidence, it is still applied in practice by many practitioners.
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Manual therapy can help restore the health of dysfunctional musculature
Muscle inhibition and facilitation occur in everyone, causing pain and dysfunction. Facilitated muscles are stuck in concentric contraction, while inhibited muscles are stuck in eccentric contraction. Inhibition is generated by an impropriety perceived by the proprioceptors that alter movement patterns. This can be caused by overuse injuries, inability to rotate the spine, curvatures of the spine, or instability in the pelvis or feet.
Manual therapy is a system of examination and intervention that addresses non-surgical, soft tissue lesions through the concept of Selective Tissue Tension (STT) testing and differential diagnosis. It is a treatment method for spine and peripheral joint issues. Orthopaedic manual therapy is driven by scientific and clinical evidence and the biopsychosocial framework of each patient.
Manual therapy can be used to restore the health of dysfunctional musculature. It can be used to reduce pain and improve an individual's psychological state. This is achieved by stimulating the pain-gate mechanism, muscle inhibition, reduction of nociceptive activity, and reduced intraarticular or periarticular pressure. The Muscle Energy Technique (MET), for example, was developed as an osteopathic alternative to high-velocity manipulation. It is a neuromuscular mobilization system that engages and regulates the sensorimotor impulses and any musculature that moves a particular body joint. MET uses precise, three-dimensional positioning of joints, followed by specific isometric muscle contractions against the manual resistance of a therapist. By employing the principles of Post-Isometric Relaxation and Reciprocal Inhibition, dysfunctional joint mechanics can be normalized.
Additionally, manual therapy techniques can be used to treat musculoskeletal disorders, including low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, knee osteoarthritis, and hip osteoarthritis. Physiotherapy techniques such as stroking, tapping, manual stimulation, neuro-muscular facilitation, and bio-feedback can also be used to retrain muscles and restore their health.
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Frequently asked questions
Facilitated muscles are those that are locked short and are excessively contracted by the nervous system. This can cause pain and dysfunction.
It may be difficult to determine if you have facilitated muscles without a proper assessment from a practitioner. However, if you are very in tune with your body, you may be able to notice imbalances or altered movement patterns caused by facilitated muscles.
Physiotherapy and manual therapy techniques can be used to treat facilitated muscles. These techniques may include stroking, tapping, manual stimulation, neuro-muscular stimulation using a small muscle stimulator, and bio-feedback to retrain the brain and muscle. Once the muscle is firing properly, progressive exercises can be introduced to improve strength and stability.
