What is meant by the term "muscle tone"?

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Muscle Tone

Q. What is meant by the term "muscle tone"?

A. The living muscle is always at work. The controlling centers continually send out a rhythmic stream of impulses whereby the muscle is kept constantly in a state of contraction. This is muscle tone. When the nerve centers are full of energy and the muscles are in a healthy state, muscle tone is good; that is, strong impulses are sent into strong muscles, and the result is strong muscular tension. In certain conditions of dis­ease when irritation of muscles or nerve centers exists, either as the result of the direct effect of diseased conditions or of reflex influence, tension may be enonnously exaggerated, as may be seen, for example, in torticollis, writer's cramp, hysteria and in the tensed condition of the ab­dominal muscles accompanying disease of the appendix or inflammation of the gall bladder. Imperfectly developed muscles are deficient in tone.

Unused muscles rapidly lose their normal tone.

Overstrained muscles become relaxed, which is also true of muscles controlled by exhausted nerve centers.

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