title: Does the Wartenberg pendulum test differentiate quantitatively between spasticity and rigidity? A study in elderly stroke and Parkinsonian patients.
abstract: The results of applying the Wartenberg pendulum test to the assessment of muscle tone in populations of stroke and Parkinsonian patients are described. The test was able to distinguish between increased muscle tone of the spastic or rigid type. The Parkinsonian patients showed a marked reduction of the maximum velocity of the leg swing, with the relaxation index tending to a value of about one. In contrast the affected limb of stroke patients showed a lesser reduction of the velocity of the swing, the relaxation index tending to a value of less than one.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Dundee, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Lawson
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Leslie
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: MacArthur
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: MacLennan
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: McMurdo
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Mutch
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Part
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006429:Hemiplegia / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008838:Microcomputers; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D009126:Muscle Relaxation; D009127:Muscle Rigidity / Q000503:physiopathology; D009128:Muscle Spasticity / Q000503:physiopathology; D009129:Muscle Tonus; D009460:Neurologic Examination / Q000295:instrumentation*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted