Why Is Spasticity Treatment Important?

CHAPTER 1 Why Is Spasticity Treatment Important?

Allison Brashear and Elie Elovic

Spasticity treatment is important because the increased tone may interfere with the physical functioning of patients. The overarching goal of spasticity management should be to improve the ability of patients to perform active and passive ranges of motion and improve the ability of caregivers to assist patients with disabilities. Increased tone or spasticity is the tightness that patients and/or caregivers report with passive movement of the limb. In more scientific language, spasticity is a motor disorder characterized by a velocity-dependent increase in the tonic stretch reflex. A clinical finding on the neurologic examination, spasticity, together with increased tone, brisk reflexes with incoordination, and weakness, represents the upper motor neuron syndrome.

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