Term | Definition |
Akinesia | Inability to initiate movement (Parkinson's disease) |
Asthenia | Generalized weakness, secondary to cerebellar pathology |
Ataxia | Inability to perform coordinated movements |
Athetosis | Condition that presents with involuntary movements combined w/ instability of posture |
Bradykinesia | Movement that is slow |
Chorea | Movements are sudden, random, and involuntary |
Clasp-knife response | In a hypertonic joint, the greatest resistance is at the initiation of a range of movement that lessens with movement through the entire range |
Clonus | Involuntary alternating spasmodic contraction precipitated by a quick stretch reflex; characteristic of an UMN lesion |
Cogwheel rigidity | Resistance to movement has a phasic quality to it; often seen in Parkinson's disease |
Dysdiadochokinesia | Inability to perform rapid alternating movements |
Dysmetria | Inability to control the range of a movement and the force of muscular activity |
Dystonia | Closely related to athetosis, however, there is larger axial muscle involvement rather than appendicular mm |
Fasciculation | Muscular twitch caused by random discharge of a LMN and its muscle fibers; suggests LMN disease, however, can be benign |
Hemiballism | Involuntary and violent movement of a large body part |
Kinesthesia | Ability to perceive the direction and extent of movement of a joint or body part |
Lead pipe rigidity | There is uniform and constant resistance to ROM; often associated w/ lesions of the basal ganglia |
Rigidity | State of severe hypertonicity where a sustained muscle contraction does not allow for any movement at a specified joint |
Tremor | Involuntary, rhythmic, oscillatory movements secondary to a basal ganglia lesion. |