D.D. Palmer, wrote extensively about the concept of tone. According to Palmer: "Life is the expression of tone. In that sentence is the basic principle of Chiropractic. Tone is the normal degree of nerve tension.
Tone is expressed in functions by the normal elasticity, activity, strength and excitability of the various organs, as observed in a state of health. Consequently, the cause of disease is any variation of tone – nerves too tense or too slack."
Palmer's tonal model is inherent in the modern concept of "tensegrity." Tensegrity is maintained in "a system that stabilizes itself mechanically because of the way tensional and compressive forces are distributed and balanced within the structure." In living cells, tensegrity is maintained by contractile microfilaments, which form a lattice that reorganizes locally into different forms.
