Mechanoreceptors and METs

Questions that come up in Hendrickson Method^® sessions are “what is Muscle Energy Technique? What are mechanoreceptors”? When a client performs an action like leg extension, (recruiting the quadriceps), and actively engages against my hand’s pressure, the brain gets involved. This changes the resting tone of the muscle by affecting mechanoreceptors. Mechanoreceptors that affect muscle length, tension, and resting tone are the muscle spindle cells and Golgi tendon organs.

Muscle spindles are a type of fiber found within each muscle in our body. The fibers are called “intrafusal fiber”. Muscle spindle fibersdetect changes in muscle length. Their function includes sensing joint position, balance, muscular control, and coordination. They also “set the tone of the muscle”. Muscles that have more function, like muscles that move the eyes, possess more muscle spindles.

Golgi tendon organs are sensory receptors found along the muscle fiber at the tendinous junction between the muscle and joint. GTO’s sense changes in muscle tension. For example, when a Hendrickson Method^® Therapist cues a with client with an MET to “lightly meet the pressure of their hand” to recruit a hamstring muscle, the GTO kicks in. According to Dr. Tom Hendrickson’s book, Massage and Manual Therapy for Orthopedic Conditions, “GTO stimulates nerves at the spinal cord, called inhibitory neurons, causing the muscle to relax.” By using Muscle Energy Technique, (MET), the same action can stimulate the muscle to strengthen.

Both muscle spindles and Golgi Tendon Organs affect muscle tension. This helps muscles stabilize joints. These receptors also assist the muscles ability to provide balance and coordination to a joint. Consistent use of Muscle Energy Technique works with these mechanoreceptors, and helps clients living with acute or chronic joint conditions.

Hendrickson, Thomas Massage and Manual Therapy for Orthopedic Conditions, 2nd edition, Baltimore MD: LWW, 2009