Which tool is used to assess muscle tone?

Which tool is used to assess muscle tone?

• A. GMFM
• B. Modified Ashworth Scale
• C. Pendulum Test
• D. Tardieu Scale

Answer: (B)

Muscle tone is the resistance a muscle offers to passive movement, reflecting neural factors like spasticity. The Modified Ashworth Scale is designed specifically to quantify that resistance when a limb is moved slowly and passively, giving a simple score that indicates how much tone is increased compared with normal. This makes it the best choice for assessing tone, because it directly measures the property in question—how “tight” or stiff the muscle feels during passive stretch. Other options serve different purposes. The gross motor function measure evaluates what a person can do in movement, not the passive resistance of muscles. The Pendulum Test observes how a leg swings to infer spasticity but isn’t a standardized tone rating. The Tardieu Scale also assesses spasticity, but it incorporates movement velocity and different angles, making it more complex and less universally used for a quick tone rating.

Muscle tone is the resistance a muscle offers to passive movement, reflecting neural factors like spasticity. The Modified Ashworth Scale is designed specifically to quantify that resistance when a limb is moved slowly and passively, giving a simple score that indicates how much tone is increased compared with normal. This makes it the best choice for assessing tone, because it directly measures the property in question—how “tight” or stiff the muscle feels during passive stretch.

Other options serve different purposes. The gross motor function measure evaluates what a person can do in movement, not the passive resistance of muscles. The Pendulum Test observes how a leg swings to infer spasticity but isn’t a standardized tone rating. The Tardieu Scale also assesses spasticity, but it incorporates movement velocity and different angles, making it more complex and less universally used for a quick tone rating.