Question

a patient presents with a right shoulder injury. as part of your plan of care to rehab his shoulder, you ask the patient to stand next to a wall with his right shoulder touching the wall. you ask him to flex his elbow to about 90° and push the back of his hand to the wall for 10 seconds before he relaxes. he will repeat this exercise 5 times and perform 3 sets. this is an example of which type of contraction?
a) concentric contraction
b) isometric contraction
c) isotonic contraction
d) eccentric contraction

Explanation:

Isometric contractions occur when muscle tension is generated without a change in muscle length. In the described exercise, the patient is pushing against a stationary wall, and there is no visible movement or change in the length of the muscles involved in the shoulder - elbow action. Concentric contractions involve muscle shortening, isotonic contractions involve movement against a constant load, and eccentric contractions involve muscle lengthening while under tension.

Answer:

b) Isometric contraction