Chronic Spasticity

Chronic Spasticity General Information

All the voluntary movements are controlled by parts of the patient’s nervous system. This is why when the cortico-spinal tract or the upper motor neurons are damaged, a condition called Chronic Spasticity may occur, affecting the patient’s muscles. Chronic Spasticity refers to a continuous contraction of the muscles involving the motor system of the body, particularly the CNS (central nervous system). This disorder is characterized by tightness and stiffness of the muscles causing problems with the movement, gait or speech. Any group of muscles or any single muscle can be affected by the increased muscle tone. Not always the motor system is connected with the sensory system so that a person suffering of Chronic Spasticity may not always feel the spastic muscles or know about it. More sensitive to this medical condition are those patients who suffer from brain trauma, spinal cord injury, anoxic brain damage, injury stroke, a number of metabolic diseases including phenylketonuria and adrenoleukodystrophy, multiple sclerosis, tumors, or severe injuries of the head. It is very important for all the patients to be well informed in what concerns this matter. Nowadays, more and more people suffer from this disorder, especially if they also have cerebral palsy. If you have relatives suffering from this chronic medical disorder or only acquaintances, you should be able to know how to help them when it is necessary. You can find out more about the adequate ways of taking care of those who have this condition by talking to a physician who is specialized in this medical area.

Chronic Spasticity Symptoms

As many other medical conditions, Chronic Spasticity can cause some unpleasant specific signs and symptoms that can easily be relieved with the help of the adequate treatment. The characteristic signs and symptoms of this disease are: increased tone of the  body muscles (hypertonicity), muscles spasms, deep tendon reflexes that may appear exaggerated, series of rapid contractions of the muscles (clonus), fixed joints or involuntary crossing of the legs or hands, called scissoring. Chronic Spasticity can sometimes be mild, the patient complaining only of tightness or stiffness of the muscles or it can become severe causing very painful spasms, especially of the legs. Feelings of tightness or pain in and around joints may be very frequent. So, many patients may have difficulties in speech and movement of body parts. Several persons have accused low back pain. This is a severe disease that disrupts the patient’s life. This is why we strongly recommend you to seek help at the nearest medical center where the specialists will be happy to provide you the information that you need in case you develop any of these symptoms. A health care professional can offer you suggestions of how you can stop or calm this type of spasticity. They can sometimes relieve the symptoms and aid the patient in his or her attempts of recovering the normal life they had before. For more information regarding this condition we advise you to talk to a physician or a specialist in this area because the symptoms and signs are more numerous and may differ from case to case.

Chronic Spasticity Treatment

It is very important to call your health care provider or physician and set up an appointment as soon as possible when you notice some changes in your muscular system suggesting you may suffer from Chronic Spasticity. Because this medical condition has severe consequences it is highly important to do everything that needs to be done in the disorder’s early stages. The first remedy that every doctor would suggest is rest, especially if the cause of the spasticity is fatigue. Although it is generally useful to apply a massage when the healthy patient feels tension in his or her muscles, when you deal with Chronic Spasticity this is not helpful at all. In exchange, what really works is the relaxing and stretching of the muscles. Usually, when the patient is confronted with chronic spasms, the shortening of the ligaments or muscles may occur so that it is very important to do daily exercises (with regularity) in order to prevent experiencing pain in movement. Especially in Chronic Spasticity the surgery and the medications are considered to be extremely useful although they bring a series of complications (especially changes in the cognition and mood) if they are used in high doses. This is why a patient is forced to make a decision between minimizing spasticity and suffering from the side effects. Nowadays, there are a number of medicines that help cure this muscular disorder. Some of the most efficient drugs are: diazepam, tizanidine, or baclofen. When spinal cord injuries, cerebral vascular accident or cerebral palsy are related with this medical disorder, benzodiazepines are the most frequent and the oldest oral agent that has been used, improving anxiety and causing sedation. For example, reduction and passive range of motion are improved with the help of diazem. Treatments often mean combinations between surgery, several medications and implantation devices. The most challenging thing for a doctor is to establish the most efficient treatment that will satisfy the patient, have the best effects and present minimal unpleasant side effects, if not avoid them. Baclofen is widely used because it helps improve joint range of motion, clonus and spasms frequency. The negative parts of this therapy is that many patients end up developing resistance to the medication or they experience numerous adverse effects such as tiredness, hallucinations, ataxia, sedation or weakness. Also, if used in combination with benzodiazepines or tizanidine, the respective patient must be continually monitored because unwanted depressant effects may occur. Surgery is considered a really good option treatment against Chronic Spasticity although not always cures/eliminates this medical disorder. But this method should only be considered in patients who have not responded to oral medicines. A new alternative therapy to help the persons who suffer of this disorder is issued by the United States of America and consists in medical marijuana. The expectations for those who suffer of Chronic Spasticity depend mostly on the associated health problems and on the severity of the spasticity.