Hysterical strength is a display of extreme physical strength by humans, beyond what is believed to be within their capacity, usually occurring when people are in—or perceive themselves, or others, to be in—life-or-death situations. It was also reported to be present during situations of altered states of consciousness, such as trance and alleged possession. Its description is mostly based on anecdotal evidence.
The name refers to hysteria, a nosological category that included bouts of superhuman strength as one of the possible symptoms. In Europe, this had previously been considered a symptom of demonic possession, which was treated by the Catholic ritual of exorcism. Early neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot ascribed such displays of unusual physical prowess instead to his proposed second phase of hysteria, which he called clownism. Thus, the phenomenon began at that time to be addressed by the investigation of insanity, rather than supernatural causes. During that period in the 19th century, the term hysterical strength could also be found in the intersection of such fields, scientific and religious, for instance mentioned by the Society for Psychical Research regarding a statement given by a physician.
It was also described in reports of trance or possession in several other cultures, as for example in the New Testament (Mark 5:4) or in shamanic practices.
Unexpected strength is claimed to occur during the now widely rejected pseudoscientific condition of excited delirium.
The most common anecdotal examples based on hearsay are of parents lifting vehicles to rescue their children, and when people are in life-and-death situations. Periods of increased strength are short-lived, usually no longer than a few minutes, and might lead to muscle injuries and exhaustion later. It is not known if there are any reliable examples of this phenomenon.[citation needed]
Early experiments showed that adrenaline increases twitch, but not tetanic force and rate of force development in muscles.
One proposed explanation is Tim Noakes' "central governor" theory, which states that higher instances in the central nervous system dynamically and subconsciously control the number of active motor units in the muscle. Normally, in order to guarantee homeostasis, the entire motor neural capacity is not activated and, therefore, the total capacity of the muscle during performances outside of an emergency situation remains inaccessible: this would lead to exhaustion of energy resources and even physical injuries. However, in life-threatening situations, it is adaptive for the central governor limits to be removed or modified. People in high load weightlifting training are able to activate more motor units, which ensures more strength and efficiency in muscle contraction, even though they had the same amount of muscle mass compared to people in low load training.
Exercise physiologist Robert Girandola has pointed out that most cars have a 60/40 weight distribution, as the engine block puts the center of mass slightly towards the front of the car. In most instances, the individual is lifting one or two wheels of the car from the back. Therefore, they are only actually lifting a small fraction of the vehicle's weight. While the fight or flight response allows for increased lifting capacity, it would be hundreds of pounds rather than thousands.
one of the Hulk comic books' artists, Jack Kirby, has said he was inspired by seeing a woman rescue her child from beneath a trapped car.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)KIRBY: The Hulk I created when I saw a woman lift a car. Her baby was caught under the running board of this car. The little child was playing in the gutter and he was crawling from the gutter onto the sidewalk under the running board of this car — he was playing in the gutter. His mother was horrified. She looked from the rear window of the car, and this woman in desperation lifted the rear end of the car.
Jack Kirby witnessed a woman lift a car to get her child out from under it. The moment helped inspire one of his most famous creations: the Incredible Hulk.