Why spasticity occurs

Patient Pages are authored by neurosurgical professionals, with the goal of providing useful information to the public. Pilitsis specializes in neuromodulation with research interests in treatments for movement disorders and chronic pain. 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. Joint Providership. Spasticity Spasticity is a condition in which muscles stiffen or tighten, preventing normal fluid movement.

It can also be a symptom of multiple sclerosis or cerebral palsy. There are many theories about what causes spasticity but the actual cause is not entirely known. When damage happens to the spinal cord or central nervous system, this may cause a change in the signal balance between the nervous system and the muscles, which can lead to increased spasms, contractions and reflexes in the muscles. Treatment for spasticity may range from medication to physical therapy and even surgery.

Treatment will depend on the degree of muscle impairment, which varies from person to person. Medications used to manage symptoms of spasticity include baclofen, diazepam, tizanidine or clonazepam. Muscle Tone in Patients with Spasticity: The Exaggerated Stretch Reflex Differently from healthy subjects, in patients with spasticity evaluated at rest completely relaxed , a positive linear correlation between EMG activity of the stretched muscle and stretch velocity was found using a range of displacement velocities similar to that used in the clinical practice to evaluate the muscle tone.

Figure 1. Rectified electromyographic activity recorded from the flexor carpi radialis of a patient with left spastic hemiparesis from right cerebral ischaemic stroke.

The electromyographic activity not only is present during the dynamic phase, reflecting the typical stretch reflex, but persists also during the static phase. Figure 2. Schematic representation of the descending pathways modulating the stretch reflex circuitry see text. References J. Feldman, R. Young, and W. Koella, Eds. View at: Google Scholar D. Burke, J. Gillies, and J. Tardieu, C. Tardieu, P. Colbeau Justin, and M. Rymer, J. Houk, and P. Kamper, B. Schmit, and W. Thilmann, S. Fellows, and E.

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Scheidtmann, and C. Delwaide and E. Multiple sclerosis MS. Traumatic brain or spinal cord injury. Spasticity can affect muscles in any part of the body, but is most common in leg muscles. Symptoms can vary among individuals and can be painful, disfiguring and disabling. Voluntary movement involves a series of communications between muscles and the brain, with signals transmitted through the nerves and spinal cord.

Congenital conditions or other factors affecting a particular area of the brain, spinal cord or nerves can affect the flow of signals to and from the muscles. Spasticity in people with CP results from damage to the part of the brain that controls muscle tone and movement. Arm and leg muscles may be affected. Children who are eventually diagnosed with cerebral palsy may not show spasticity symptoms as infants, but the problem can become more evident over time as the child matures.

People with MS can experience spasticity of the leg and hip muscles, resulting in flexor spasticity legs and hips locked in a bent position or extensor spasticity, where stiff muscles hold the legs straight and occasionally crossed at the ankles. Shortly after a traumatic brain injury TBI , spinal cord injury or stroke, an individual may show signs of muscle tightness in different parts of the body, which may improve as the brain injury heals.