Rigidity in which the muscles respond with cogwheel-like jerks to the use of force in bending the limb, as occurs in Parkinson’s disease.
Stiff, jerky movements of the muscles as if clicking in a gear; associated with Parkinson’s disease and side effects of neuroleptic medications.
The condition that occurs when tremor coexists with rigidity as in Parkinson’s syndrome. In this condition, manually manipulated body parts may take on the feel of a cogwheel. This can occur also as an extrapyramidal side effect of antipsychotic drug therapy.
“Cogwheel rigidity” is a term occasionally employed to describe a distinct muscle stiffness observed in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. When someone with this condition has their limbs moved passively, the muscles exhibit a series of small jerky movements while being stretched.