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Query: UMLS:C0026838 (spasticity)
 6,471 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Paraplegic and quadriplegic patients particularly those suffering from spinal cord injuries are at a high risk of developing pressure ulcerations. Unlike pressure ulcers in geriatric patients, which usually can be controlled with pressure relieving devices and local wound care, pressure ulceration complicating spinal cord injuries should be viewed from another perspective. Clinical management is also more complex because of the associated spasticity. Although it is now recognised that spasticity control is critical for management of patients with cerebral or spinal cord diseases or injuries, published risk assessment studies and risk assessment pressure sore scales fail to recognise spasticity as a major risk factor. Identification of spasticity should heighten the awareness of medical and paramedical personnel and have a positive impact on prevention as well as on treatment of pressure sores in this particularly difficult group of patients. We present our experience with a young quadriplegic patient with severe spasticity presenting with a large infected ischial pressure sore. All surgical as well as conservative attempts to achieve healing failed because of our failure to recognise the importance of spasticity control in the overall treatment scheme. Spasticity control should be included as a prerequisite for any treatment protocol of such patients.
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PMID:Pressure sores with associated spasticity: a clinical challenge. 1672 56

Disabled athletes face many challenges during training and competition. As the number of disabled athletes grows, sports medicine professionals must become proficient in dealing with this population. A functional classification system is used to classify disabled athletes into 1 of 6 categories: wheelchair athletes, amputees, athletes with cerebral palsy, visual impairment, intellectual impairment, and les autres. Injury patterns have been identified for certain groups, with wheelchair athletes typically sustaining upper extremity injuries, blind athletes sustaining lower extremity injuries, and cerebral palsy athletes sustaining both. Common problems affecting wheelchair athletes include autonomic dysreflexia, difficulty with thermoregulation, pressure sores, neurogenic bladder, premature osteoporosis, peripheral nerve entrapment syndromes, and upper extremity injuries. Cerebral palsy athletes often have injuries involving the knee and foot due to problems with spasticity and foot deformities. Amputee athletes sustain injuries to the stump, spine, and intact limbs, while blind athletes suffer lower extremity injuries. Intellectually disabled athletes frequently have underlying ocular and visual defects, congenital cardiac anomalies, and atlantoaxial instability that predispose them to injuries. This article reviews key information pertinent to the care of these athletes.
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PMID:Practical management: common medical problems in disabled athletes. 1730 8

The management of spinal cord injury patients requires a knowledge of several non-urological aspects associated with a risk of particular complications in these patients: pressure ulcers, spasticity and autonomic hyperreflexia. Spinal cord injury patients present a high risk of pressure ulcer, as almost all patients develop at least one pressure ulcer during their lifetime. During a stay in hospital, the medical team must be particularly attentive to prevent these problems, as, once they develop, they can take several months or even years to heal. Autonomic hyperreflexia and spasticity can be due to a urological cause. These two diseases can cause major discomfort for the patient and, in these patients, must be considered to be equivalent to the pain that they can no longer feel due to sensory disorders. The management of spinal cord injury patients must take into account these three particular risk factors: pressure ulcers, spasticity and autonomic hyperreflexia.
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PMID:[Clinical specificities of spinal cord injury patients (pressure ulcers, autonomic hyperreflexia, spasticity)]. 1762 76

Presented here is a 16-year-old girl who was referred on 30th January 1996 with diagnosis of cord compression with spastic paraplegia with sensory level at T7/T8. CT scan myelogam confirmed soft tissue density mass displacing cord to the left with no dye being seen beyond T3. Thoracic spine decompressive laminectomy was performed on 1st January 1996 at Nairobi West Hospital extending from T3 to T6 level, which revealed a fibrous haemorrhagic tumour. Histology showed meningioma (mixed fibrous type and meningoepitheliomatous type) with many psammoma bodies. She had a stormy post-operative period, with infection and wound dehiscence. This was treated with appropriate antibiotics and wound care. She was eventually rehabilitated and was able to walk with the aid of a walking frame because of persistent spasticity of right leg. She was seen once as an outpatient by author on 6th July 1996, she was able to use the walking frame, but the right leg was still held in flexion deformity at the knee. She was thus referred to an orthopaedic surgeon for possible tenotomy. She was able to resume her studies at the University ambulating using a wheel chair and walking frame. She presented with worsening of symptoms in 2001 (five years after her first surgery). MRI scan thoracic spine revealed a left anterolateral intradural lesion extending from T3 to T5 vertebral body level compressing and displacing the spinal cord. She had a repeat surgery on 6th March 2001 at Kenyatta National Hospital; spastic paraparesis and urinary incontinenece persisted. She also developed bed sores and recurrent urinary tract infections. She was followed up by the author and other medical personnel in Mwea Mission Hospital where she eventually succumbed in 2005, nine years after her first surgery. This case is presented as a case of incompletely excised spinal meningioma to highlight some of the problems of managing spinal meningiomas when operating microscope and embolisation of tumours are not readily available. Also the family experienced financial constraint in bringing the patient for regular follow-up, and getting access to appropriate antibiotics, catheters and urine bags.
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PMID:Neurological manifestations following partial excision in spinal meningioma: case report. 1763 85

During the past three decades, internal fixation has become increasingly popular for fracture management and limb reconstruction. As a result, during their training, orthopaedic surgeons receive less formal instruction in the art of extremity immobilization and cast application and removal. Casting is not without risks and complications (eg, stiffness, pressure sores, compartment syndrome); the risk of morbidity is higher when casts are applied by less experienced practitioners. Certain materials and methods of ideal cast and splint application are recommended to prevent morbidity in the patient who is at high risk for complications with casting and splinting. Those at high risk include the obtunded or comatose multitrauma patient, the patient under anesthesia, the very young patient, the developmentally delayed patient, and the patient with spasticity.
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PMID:Cast and splint immobilization: complications. 1818 Mar 90

A 56-year-old man became quadriplegic, bed bound, and carer-dependent secondary to cervical osteomyelitis. Three years later, he presented with generalised spasticity, crouched posture, and a large sacral pressure sore. The severe spasticity in his hips and knees prevented ischial sitting. Injections of botulinum toxin type A to both hamstrings and gastrosoleuii controlled the flexor spasticity of his lower limbs and facilitated rehabilitation and wound healing through proper positioning, wound care, stretching, and weight-bearing exercises. A few weeks later, the patient could better position himself in bed (prone lying) and on his wheelchair (ischial sitting). His spasm-related pain lessened and his mobility and activities of daily living improved. The sacral pressure sore healed completely a few months later. The patient could sleep better, feed with set-up and adaptive aids, groom, dress, and transfer himself with minimal assistance. The effects of botulinum toxin extended beyond just spasticity reduction. His upper extremity function, mobility, and social well-being were all improved through better positioning.
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PMID:Botulinum toxin type A for rehabilitation after a spinal cord injury: a case report. 1939 3

Autonomic dysreflexia (AD) is not an uncommon clinical condition and it is usually detected in patients with complete spinal injuries at or above thoracic 6th vertebral level (T 6). This condition is reported to occur in 48- 60% of cases of spinal cord injury at or above the level of T6. But AD due to injury below T6 is rare. The basic mechanism is thought to be due to excessive, uncontrolled activation of sympathetic system. In the present case, we discuss a persistent AD in 55-yr-old tetraplegic patient with C5 American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) grade A lesion due to a fall from 10 metre height. MRI examination showed C5 and C6 bi-facets fracture and dislocation with canal compromise. Wiring and fusion was performed but recurrent mucous plugging and aspiration pneumonia and urinary tract infection happened during the hospital stay. Three months later, he was re-admitted with multiple pressure sores, pneumonia, sepsis and high blood pressure. He was administered with nifedepine but the blood pressure kept fluctuating. The present study highlights how the precipitating factors like concomitant urinary tract infection, decubitus ulcers, spasticity triggered the AD attack. The knowledge of the AD and its proper diagnosis and management may be beneficial to all clinicians and the present article attempts to highlight such.
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PMID:An interesting case of autonomic dysreflexia. 1999 83

Purpose. To highlight research priorities of people with spinal cord injury (SCI), outline the current state of rehabilitation research and suggest potentially fruitful avenues for future inquiry. Method. Commentary. Results. People with SCI identify pain, depression, fatigue, pressure sores, spasticity and the management of bladder and bowel as research priorities. Research reveals multiple interconnections between these secondary problems, all of which negatively impact quality of life (QOL). However, despite a substantial volume of existing research, significant gaps in knowledge remain, duplications of research effort are apparent and few interventions have an adequate evidence base. Issues concerning community participation - another research priority - have only recently attracted researchers' attention. Conclusions. This commentary contends that research should: focus on issues and outcomes of relevance and importance to people living with SCI; address the complexities of secondary conditions and their inter-relationships; appraise environmental barriers to participation in meaningful living; be designed to identify and inform effective and relevant interventions. Innovative approaches to research partnerships, mixed methods and exploring variables usually omitted from quantitative studies might enhance the likelihood that the complexity of issues facing people living with SCI will be identified and addressed. Moreover, a governing focus on achieving lives experienced as hopeful, purposeful, satisfying and meaningful could contribute to enhancing QOL outcomes following SCI.
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PMID:Spinal cord injury rehabilitation research: patient priorities, current deficiencies and potential directions. 2013 45

This series of articles for rehabilitation in practice aims to cover a knowledge element of the rehabilitation medicine curriculum. Nevertheless they are intended to be of interest to a multidisciplinary audience. The competency addressed in this article is 'The trainee consistently demonstrates a knowledge of the pathophysiology of various specific impairments including spasticity'. Spasticity is an extremely common feature of chronic neurological conditions and, if badly managed, it can result in pain, contractures and pressure sores, all of which can impact on function. It is therefore essential that a multidisciplinary management strategy is in place to help the individual manage their particular situation through education with timely access to interventions including instigation of a physical management programme and medication such as baclofen, tizanidine, dantrolene, benzodiazepines and gabapentin. Further treatment options for focal spasticity are botulinum toxin and phenol nerve blocks or intrathecal baclofen or phenol for predominant lower limb spasticity. Ongoing assessment with the use of appropriate outcome measures can both guide choice of treatment and monitor efficacy.
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PMID:Rehabilitation in practice: Spasticity management. 2036 Jan 50

Family physicians are often unfamiliar with the care of patients with spinal cord injuries because they may have only one such patient in their practice. Urinary tract infections, constipation, and decubitus ulcers are the most common problems, and autonomic dysreflexia the most serious emergency that family physicians treat in this population. This article addresses these areas, as well as spasticity, sexuality, depression, and the acute abdomen.
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PMID:Care of the spinal cord-injured patient. 2046 4


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