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Concept
Waxy flexibility
Summary
Waxy flexibility is one of the twelve symptoms that can lead to the diagnosis of catatonia. It is a psychomotor symptom that results in a decreased response to stimuli and a tendency to remain in an immobile posture. If one were to move the arm of someone with waxy flexibility, the patient would keep that arm where it had been positioned until moved again as if positioning malleable wax. Attempts to reposition the patient are met by "slight, even resistance".
Waxy flexibility is a specific symptom of catatonia. It refers to the patient's body showing resistance to being moved. Alteration of an individual's posture is similar to bending a warm candle.
Waxy flexibility often develops with other symptoms of catatonia, including:
Immobility: showing no signs of motion
Posturing: holding in an inappropriate body position for an extended period of time
Mutism: lack or absence of speaking
Ambitendency: a pattern of incomplete motor responses in anticipation of a voluntary action
Withdrawal and refusal to eat
Staring or no focus in eyes
Negativism: persistent resistance to the suggestions of others or actions contrary to expectations or commands
Automatic obedience: excessive, uncritical, or mechanical compliance with the requests, suggestions, or commands of others
Stereotypy: persistent repetition of the same words, movements, or other behavior
The exact cause of waxy flexibility, and catatonia, is unclear, but there are some reasonable possibilities. They are mainly believed to occur as a result of other underlying diseases.
Historically, waxy flexibility, and catatonia, have been liked to schizophrenia. A prospective and retrospective study that followed the DSM-3 criteria found that there was a 24.4% rate of catatonia to occur in schizophrenia patients. However, recent research showed that there is a significant decrease in diagnosed catatonic subtypes among schizophrenic disorders during the past decades. This is believed to be the result of sociocultural developments and the use of neuroleptics.
Official source
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