Spasticity is a condition in which muscles stiffen or tighten, preventing normal fluid movement. The muscles remain contracted and resist being stretched, thus affecting movement, speech and gait. Spasticity is generally caused by damage or disruption to the area of the brain and spinal cord that are responsible for controlling muscle and stretch reflexes. These disruptions can be due to an imbalance in the inhibitory and excitatory signals sent to the muscles, causing them to lock in place. Spasticity can be harmful to growing children as it can affect muscles and joints. People with brain injury, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis can have varying degrees of spasticity. Symptoms of spasticity can vary from being mild stiffness or tightening of muscles to painful and uncontrollable spasms. Pain or tightness in joints is also common in spasticity.
It is important to seek medical care when spasticity is experienced for the first time with no known cause, the spasticity is worsening and becoming more frequent, pain is experienced due to stiff joints and muscles or the condition is preventing performance of everyday tasks. Prolonged and untreated spasticity can lead to frozen joints and/or pressure sores on the skin, which are very painful. Begin by contacting your primary care doctor, who may refer you for further testing or physical therapy. Due to the varying degrees of spasticity, diagnosis may not be so simple. A physical examination with neurological testing will be done to test for spasticity and the severity of it. Imaging such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can provide more information on the source of spasticity and the extent of the damage that has caused it. Fortunately, there are several treatment options for spasticity and patients usually undergo more than one treatment at a time. The following treatments have been shown to effectively alleviate symptoms and improve quality of daily life.
Patients are recommended to follow up with their primary care or specialty doctor regularly to ensure proper treatment of the condition. Typically, for surgeries such as baclofen pump placement, patients are followed by their neurosurgeon who sees them three months, six months and 12 months post operatively and additionally for medicine dosing appointments and any device-related appointments. Patients who take oral medications or who do physical and/or occupational therapy should follow-up with their doctors as instructed and needed. Currently Recruiting:
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Patient Pages are authored by neurosurgical professionals, with the goal of providing useful information to the public. Julie G Pilitsis, MD, PhD, FAANS Chair, Neuroscience & Experimental Therapeutics Professor, Neurosurgery and Neuroscience & Experimental Therapeutics Albany Medical College Dr. Pilitsis specializes in neuromodulation with research interests in treatments for movement disorders and chronic pain. Olga Khazen, BS Research Coordinator Neuroscience & Experimental Therapeutics Albany Medical College The AANS does not endorse any treatments, procedures, products or physicians referenced in these patient fact sheets. This information provided is an educational service and is not intended to serve as medical advice. Anyone seeking specific neurosurgical advice or assistance should consult his or her neurosurgeon, or locate one in your area through the AANS’ Find a Board-certified Neurosurgeon online tool. What is a possible reason for the decrease in the percentage of students with an identified learning disability?What is a possible reason for the decrease in the percentage of students with an identified learning disability? Students who may have previously been identified as having a learning disability are now being identified as having other health impairments.
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