Zusman's contentions15 have indirect
support in the literature. Passive
movement of a joint may inhibit reflex
contraction of muscles both local
and distant to the joint.18 Studies on
decerebrate cats confirm that the afferent
activity produced by end-ofrange
passive movements at the knee
and elbow joints has an inhibitory
effect on reflex muscle contraction.19-20
Such findings would lend
support to the use of joint mobilization
for children with spasticity