Trophism is a term used in biology, medicine and physiotherapy and refers to the study of body tissues, especially in relation to nutrition and healthy muscle development.
The study of trophism is important to prevent or treat diseases and can be applied in many areas of health: such as the skin, digestive system and gynecology, for example.
But it is in relation to muscles that trophism is most studied and applied.
muscle trophism
Muscle trophism studies how nutrition and maintenance of muscle health take place, which is directly linked to the blood supply to the muscle and the practice of physical exercise. In muscle trophism, the gain or loss of strength and muscle tone is also studied.
Hypertrophy is the muscle mass increase through the practice of adequate physical exercise and a diet rich in proteins. Atrophy, on the other hand, is the opposite of hypertrophy, it is the decreased muscle mass or lack of muscle development, which can be caused by lack of exercise, poor diet, or illness.
Muscle trophism is also very important in the field of physical therapy to assess injuries, health and muscle development.
Trophism and muscle tone
Muscle tone is the degree (capacity) of contraction of a muscle during the resting state, that is, when there is no muscle movement. Muscle tone is caused by nerve stimuli.
If the muscle is at complete rest, it will be more difficult for the muscle to move as soon as receive a brain stimulus, that is, when it receives the order from the brain for the muscle to move and be contracted.
There is also hypotonia and hypertonia. Hypotonia happens when there is loss of muscle tone, caused by a neurological disease or a stroke. Hypertonia, on the other hand, is the opposite, when muscle tone increases beyond what is expected, which can be mainly caused by neurological diseases.
Muscle tone assessment
The assessment of muscle tone is intended to assess a person's ability to contract a muscle or a muscle group voluntarily.
The assessment is physical and must be done with the patient at rest. The professional responsible for the evaluation performs touch tests (palpation) on the muscle group being analyzed.
If there is stiffness or loss of muscle strength, it is possible that there is a problem with muscle tone.
muscle strength test
Unlike what happens in the assessment of muscle tone, in the strength test the power of the muscles is assessed when they are in activity. The test is used to find muscle injuries or to assess for muscle weakness.
There are different methods for testing muscle strength. But in general, in strength testing the patient is instructed to do specific exercises according to the muscle being tested.
To define muscle strength, the professional assesses the time the patient can stay in muscle contraction during exercise.
See also the meaning of Hypertrophy and Muscle tone.