What is muscle spasticity?

Zane Callister, DPT

If you’ve ever questioned, “what is muscle spasticity?” It’s essentially a condition that impacts primarily the arm and leg muscles of someone following a variety of different types of injuries or diagnoses.

What is Muscle Spasticity?

Spasticity is abnormal muscle tightness due to prolonged muscle contraction. It is a symptom associated with damage to the brain, spinal cord or motor nerves, and is seen in individuals with neurological conditions, such as cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries.

Spasticity Symptoms:

Approximately 80 percent of people with cerebral palsy are affected by spasticity. 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.

Symptoms can vary among individuals and can be painful, disfiguring and disabling. Spasticity symptoms include continuous muscle stiffness, spasms and involuntary contractions. Spasticity symptoms can affect muscles in any part of the body but are most common in leg muscles. A person with spasticity may find it difficult to walk or to perform normal tasks of daily living. Spasticity in children can result in growth problems, painful and deformed joints, and disability.

Spasticity symptoms can be influenced by multiple internal and external factors. Temperature can be a key factor in symptom severity, including the weather, exercise, clothing, or a fever. In children, growth spurts are often accompanied by worsening symptoms. Remaining in the same position for an extended period of time, excess pressure, or an abrupt movement can trigger symptoms, also.

Muscle Spasticity Treatment:

Treatment of spasticity is usually done by an interdisciplinary team and may involve a combination of medications, injections, physical therapy, and surgery. Therapeutic treatment goals include relaxing the muscles as much as possible, relieving pain and stiffness, and maximizing flexibility, range of motion, coordination, and strength.

Maximizing your child’s independence, quality of life, and happiness is every team member’s end goal.