ReviewExperimental brain research2020
Spastic movement disorder: should we forget hyperexcitable stretch reflexes and start talking about inappropriate prediction of sensory consequences of movement?
Review in Experimental brain research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06837025 (The Efficacy of Fascial Manipulation Compared to Stretching in the Rehabilitation of Children With Cerebral Palsy), which is not on this map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Efficacy of Fascial Manipulation Compared to Stretching in the Rehabilitation of Children With Cerebral Palsy
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Relationship Between Spinal Reflexes and Spastic Movement Disorders.Physical medicine and rehabilitation clinics of North America · 2026Review
- Article
- Increased coactivation during clinical tests of spasticity is associated with increased coactivation during reactive standing balance control in cerebral palsy.Journal of neurophysiology · 2025Article
- A Comprehensive Understanding of Postural Tone Biomechanics: Intrinsic Stiffness, Functional Stiffness, Antagonist Coactivation, and COP Dynamics in Post-Stroke Adults.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Lower Extremity Musculoskeletal Complications of Spastic Cerebral Palsy.Journal of orthopaedics and sports medicine · 2025Article
- Development of a quantitative assessment for abnormal flexor synergy index in patients with stroke: a validity and responsiveness study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2024Article
- How the Somatosensory System Adapts to the Motor Change in Stroke: A Hemispheric Shift?Medical hypotheses · 2024Article
- Identification of Neural and Non-Neural Origins of Joint Hyper-Resistance Based on a Novel Neuromechanical Model.IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society · 2024Article
- Changing the view on spastic movement disorder management to improve active movement competence in the upper motor neuron syndrome: a clinical perspective.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Article
- A Velocity Stretch Reflex Threshold Based on Muscle-Tendon Unit Peak Acceleration to Detect Possible Occurrences of Spasticity during Gait in Children with Cerebral Palsy.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Testing spasticity mechanisms in chronic stroke before and after intervention with contralesional motor cortex 1 Hz rTMS and physiotherapy.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2023Article
- Post-Stroke Spastic Movement Disorder and Botulinum Toxin A Therapy: Early Detection And Early Injection.Annals of rehabilitation medicine · 2023Article
- Article
- Effects of Diagnostic Tibial Nerve Block and Selective Tibial Nerve Neurotomy on Spasticity and Spastic co-contractions: A Retrospective Observational Study.Journal of rehabilitation medicine · 2023Observational
- A test of the effort equalization hypothesis in children with cerebral palsy who have an asymmetric gait.PloS one · 2022Article
- The effect of cathodal transspinal direct current stimulation on tibialis anterior stretch reflex components in humans.Experimental brain research · 2022Article
- Somatosensory deficits and neural correlates in cerebral palsy: a scoping review.Developmental medicine and child neurology · 2021Article
- Functional assessment of stretch hyperreflexia in children with cerebral palsy using treadmill perturbations.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2021Article
- Muscle Tone Physiology and Abnormalities.Toxins · 2021Review
- Applying Stretch to Evoke Hyperreflexia in Spasticity Testing: Velocity vs. Acceleration.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Spastic movement disorder is characterized by reduced ability to selectively activate muscles with significant co-activation of antagonist muscles. It has traditionally been thought that hyperexcitable stretch reflexes have a central role in the pathophysiology and the clinical manifestations of the disorder. Here we argue that the main functional challenges for persons with spastic movement disorder are related to contractures, paresis, weak muscles and inappropriate central motor commands, whereas hyperexcitable reflexes play no or only an insignificant functional role. Co-activation of antagonist muscles and stiff posture and gait may rather be adaptations that aim to ensure joint and postural stability due to insufficient muscle strength. Aberrant (involuntary) muscle activity is likely related to an inadequate prediction of the sensory consequences of movement and a resulting impairment of muscle coordination. We argue that improvement of functional muscle strength and muscle coordination following central motor lesions may be achieved by optimizing integration of somatosensory information into central feedforward motor programs, whereas anti-spastic therapy that aims to reduce reflex activity may be less efficient. This opens for novel investigations into new treatment strategies that may improve functional control of movement and prevent reduced joint mobility in people with brain lesions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.