How do break tests differ from make tests in MMT?

How do break tests differ from make tests in MMT?

• A. Break tests involve the patient generating force against a fixed resistance without limb movement.
• B. Break tests apply maximal external resistance to break the muscle's isometric contraction.
• C. Make tests are performed with gravity eliminated.
• D. Make tests rely on endurance rather than force.

Answer: (B)

Break tests measure how well a muscle can hold a position against the examiner’s strongest possible counterforce, aiming to “break” the isometric contraction. The essence is applying maximal external resistance to overcome the muscle’s hold, so you’re testing peak strength under the hardest challenge the tester can provide. Make tests, by contrast, have the patient actively generate force against a lighter, controlled counterforce, without the tester trying to overpower the contraction. This arrangement assesses the ability to initiate and produce force rather than to resist and hold against maximal load. So the defining distinction is the level of external resistance used to challenge the muscle: maximal resistance to break the hold versus lighter resistance to make a contraction.

Break tests measure how well a muscle can hold a position against the examiner’s strongest possible counterforce, aiming to “break” the isometric contraction. The essence is applying maximal external resistance to overcome the muscle’s hold, so you’re testing peak strength under the hardest challenge the tester can provide.

Make tests, by contrast, have the patient actively generate force against a lighter, controlled counterforce, without the tester trying to overpower the contraction. This arrangement assesses the ability to initiate and produce force rather than to resist and hold against maximal load.

So the defining distinction is the level of external resistance used to challenge the muscle: maximal resistance to break the hold versus lighter resistance to make a contraction.