Finger flexion spasm state

Patients with stroke, cranial injury, encephalitis, and other central nervous system damage often develop a state of finger flexion spasm. In mild cases, the fingers are slightly bent and it is difficult to straighten the fingers; in severe cases, the fingers gouge into the palm and the nails pierce the palm skin, causing difficulties in palm cleaning and nail care. Since the fingers are not easily broken, the skin of the patient’s palm can become macerated, ulcerated and have an unpleasant odor. Patients may experience pain if the stiff fingers are pulled apart for cleaning care. Functional movement of the hand is often marked by random flexion and extension of the fingers. A state of flexion spasm prevents straightening of the fingers, which results in the inability to open the palm of the hand at will and to release it at will after grasping something. If the finger still has the ability to straighten, excessive flexion spasticity can mask this ability. At this point, if a peripheral neuromuscular block is used to properly block the spastic flexor muscles, it is possible to balance the two opposing forces of flexion and extension to form a more coordinated hand movement. Once the initial coordinated movements are developed, active participation in physical and occupational therapy is necessary to develop as much practical hand function as possible through remodeling of brain function. The presence or absence of the ability to straighten the fingers is one of the keys to the formation of coordinated movements. When the presence of this ability is not easily determined, electromyography or diagnostic anesthetic blocks can be utilized to assist in this determination. Typically, coordinated hand movements are not easily restored in those with severe central nerve damage and longer duration of disease, although there are occasional exceptions. For severe finger flexion spasms that interfere with care, neuromuscular blockade should be performed as early as possible. Delaying treatment can increase pain and even make the flexor muscle tendons contracted, making treatment more difficult. After blocking the spasticity, the hand splint can be continued to keep the fingers at arm’s length and allow air circulation in the palm. The muscles involved in the finger flexion spasticity state include the superficial finger flexors, deep finger flexors, long thumb flexors, and other external hand muscles, and may also include the thumb retractors, short thumb flexors, thumb-to-palmar muscles, interosseous dorsal muscles, interosseous palmar muscles, and intrinsic hand muscles such as the earthworms. Careful examination is needed to differentiate between them when dealing with spasticity. Sometimes, the spastic state of the wrist muscles may also be involved in the spastic process of the fingers due to tendon fixation, which needs to be considered together with the treatment.