Uses a muscle’s own energy in the form of gentle isometric contractions to relax fhe muscles via autogenic or reciprocal inhibition and lengthen the muscle

MET: When and who

GTO senses increased tension when the muscle contracts or stretches; is activated and responds by inhibiting this contraction (reflex inhibition) and contracting the opposing

Relaxation in the same muscle that is experiencing increased tension

The muscle spindle is activated and causes a reflective contraction in the agonist muscle (known as stretch reflex) and relaxation in the antagonist muscle

When agonist muscle contracts and shortens, the antagonist must relax and lengthen so that the motion can occur under the influence of the agonist muscle

Types of autogenic inhibition MET

Karell Lewit

Effect of the decrease in muscle tone in a single or group of muscles, after a brief period of submaximal isometric contraction of the same muscle

Acute muscular spasm

Mobilize a restricted joint

The hypertonic muscle is taken to a length just short of pain, or to the point where resistance to movement is first noted

A submaximal (10-20%) contraction of the hypertonic muscle is performed away from the barrier for between 5 and 10 seconds and the therapist applies resistance in the opposite direction. Patient should inhale during this effort

After the isometric contraction, the patient is asked to relax and exhale while doing so. Following this, a gentle stretch is applied to take up the slack till the new barrier

Starting from this new barrier, the procedure is repeated two or three times

Janda

More aggressive

The hypertonic and shortened muscle is placed between a fully stretched and a fully relaxed state

The patient is asked to contract the agonist using a maximum degree of effort for 5-10 seconds while the therapist resists the patient’s force

The patient is then asked to relax and release the effort, whereas the therapist applies a rapid stretch to a new barrier and is held for 10 seconds

The patient relaxes for approximately 20 seconds and the procedure is repeated between three to five times and five times more

Instead of starting from a new barrier, the muscle is placed between fully stretched and fully relaxed state before every repetition

Chronic condition

Fibrotic muscular spasm

The affected muscle is placed mid-range position

The patient pushes towards the restriction/barrier whereas the therapist completely resists this effort (isometric) or allows a movement towards it (isotonic)

This is followed by relaxation of the patient along with exhalation, and the therapisr applies a passive stretch to the new barrier