Consensus Definition of Muscle Tightness From Multidisciplinary Perspectives

Area of Science:

• Physiotherapy
• Clinical assessment
• Musculoskeletal health

Background:

• Muscle tightness is a complex ailment impacting patient quality of life.
• Lack of a clear definition by the National Library of Medicine causes clinical confusion.
• Existing definitions do not fully capture the multifaceted nature of muscle tightness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify attributes of muscle tightness from expert clinician perspectives.
• To develop a consensus definition of muscle tightness using multidisciplinary input.
• To enhance understanding and clinical management of muscle tightness.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative, nonintervention study design.
• Semistructured interviews with expert clinicians.
• Involved 12 multidisciplinary expert clinicians.

Main Results:

• Limited range of motion is a primary attribute of muscle tightness.
• Six additional attributes identified: loss of function, altered muscle texture, sensory changes, asymmetry, pain, and contracted muscle state.
• Identified attributes are largely subjective and interconnected.

Conclusions:

• A new definition of muscle tightness has been developed, incorporating multiple domains.
• Subjective assessments pose challenges due to the lack of standardized measurement tools.
• Development of a tool to objectively measure muscle tightness is recommended.