Physical Therapy

  Closed Kinetic Chain: exercises performed with the distal end fixed in space.

Open Kinetic Chain: exercises performed with the distal end of the limb terminating freely in space.

Isotonic: muscle contraction which causes a joint to move through some ROM. Resistance remains constant while muscle length continuously changes.

  • Concentric: isotonic contraction with muscle shortening.
  • Eccentric: isotonic contraction with muscle lengthening.

Isokinetic: muscle contraction at a constant rate of speed.

Isometric: muscle contraction that produces force without change in the associated joint angle

Knee

  • peak sheer stress is higher in open chain exercise than closed chain