OBJECTIVE This randomised, double blind, placebo controlled, two parallel group study was conducted to assess the beneficial effect of injection of botulinum toxin A (Dysport) into the subscapularis muscle on shoulder pain in stroke patients with spastic hemiplegia. METHODS A single dose of botulinum toxin A (500 Speywood units) or placebo was injected into the subcapularis muscle. Pain was a...

BACKGROUND Multiple sclerosis is associated with muscle stiffness, spasms, pain, and tremor. Much anecdotal evidence suggests that cannabinoids could help these symptoms. Our aim was to test the notion that cannabinoids have a beneficial effect on spasticity and other symptoms related to multiple sclerosis. METHODS We did a randomised, placebo-controlled trial, to which we enrolled 667 patien...

Paraplegic and hemiplegic subjects often have motor limitations caused by spasticity, that is, the following: 1) decreased dexterity, 2) loss of strength, 3) increased tendon jerks, 4) increased resistance to slower passive muscle stretch, and 5) hyperactive flexion reflexes [Landau, 1980]. Studies applying refined biomechanical and electrophysiological measures have revealed a significant chan...

BACKGROUND A cross-sectional study was performed to describe the upper limb deformity and function in cerebral palsy patients and to determine the correlation of deformity, spasticity, motor control, and sensation to hand function in the said population. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty patients satisfying our inclusion criteria underwent physical, sensory, and functional assessment using a stand...

Spasticity is a disorder commonly found in people having upper motor neuron lesion and whose involvement can happen at different levels. The Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) is the most routinely used instrument in clinical practice to assign spasticity levels. However, due to its inherent subjectivity, inter-evaluator discrepancies arise. Therefore, there are systems that quantitatively evaluate ...

OBJECTIVE Cycling on a recumbent ergometer constitutes one of the most popular rehabilitation exercises in cerebral palsy (CP). However, no control is performed on how muscles are being used during training. Given that patients with CP present altered muscular activity patterns during cycling or walking, it is possible that an incorrect pattern of muscle activation is being promoted during reha...

Paralyzed skeletal muscle sometimes becomes faster and more fatigable after spinal cord injury (SCI) because of reduced activity. However, in some cases, pronounced muscle activity in the form of spasticity (hyperreflexia and hypertonus) occurs after long-term SCI. We hypothesized that this spastic activity may be associated with a reversal back to a slower, less fatigable muscle. In adult rats...

Osteoporosis in Hemiplegia • Localized osteoporosis in 25 long-term stroke patients was evaluated by means of measuring the combined cortical thickness in the humerus, radius and third metacarpal bones of both involved and noninvolved upper extremities. The combined cortical thickness was found to be consistently smaller on the involved side. Since the factors of weight bearing and calcium home...

The sensitivity of the pendulum test to variation in spasticity in persons with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) was tested in 30 participants with CP and 10 participants without CP (controls) (mean age 13.8 years). The participants with CP were classified into three groups, with normal (mean age 15.9 years), mild/moderate (13.0 years), or severe (23.0 years) muscle tone, as assessed clinically usin...

Spasticity is the velocity-dependent increase in muscle tone due to the exaggeration of stretch reflex. It is only one of the several components of the upper motor neuron syndrome (UMNS). The central lesion causing the UMNS disrupts the balance of supraspinal inhibitory and excitatory inputs directed to the spinal cord, leading to a state of disinhibition of the stretch reflex. However, the del...