Rehabilitation of spasticity

  Spasticity is a syndrome of abnormally high muscle tone due to hyperreflexia in the spinal cord and brainstem following upper motor neuron lesions.  Spasticity treatment is comprehensive and includes prevention of injurious stimuli, early prophylactic postures, exercise therapy and other physical therapies, medications, nerve blocks, and surgery.  I. Reduce improper treatment and stimulation that aggravate spasticity 1. Anti-spasticity pattern: Patients with traumatic brain injury, stroke and spinal cord injury should adopt good posture position from the acute stage, for severe traumatic brain injury, prone position for decortical tonicity and semi-sitting position for decortical tonicity, so that the abnormally increased muscle strength can be inhibited, early inclined plate standing and weight-bearing exercises, avoid improper stimulation, such as stimulation of grasp reflex and positive Support reflex.  Eliminate risk factors that aggravate spasticity: pressure sores, constipation or urinary tract infections and other causes of pain (such as combined fractures, ingrown nails, joint pain) can aggravate spasticity.  3, careful use of certain antidepressants: certain drugs used for antidepressants can have adverse effects on spasticity and aggravate spasticity, and should be used with caution or not.  Second, physical therapy to maintain the stretching of soft tissue and appropriate training, control unnecessary muscle activity and avoid inappropriate force, the development of spasticity will be effectively controlled. Commonly used methods include: 1. Continuous passive stretching: Daily training of joint range of motion is the most essential factor in managing spasticity. Joint motion should be slow, steady and up to full range. Static stretching for several hours a day can reduce hyperreflexia. Standing for hip flexors, knee flexors, and ankle flexors is another situation where static stretching reverses early contractures and reduces the excitability of the detrusor reflex. In addition to the good posture, an inflatable splint is applied to temporarily relieve the spastic limb by continuous slow stretching. The upper and lower extremity splints and orthoses can also be used for continuous static muscle stretching, such as knee separators, full lower extremity abduction pillows, and leg splitters in the seated position to maintain soft tissue length, stretch spastic muscles, and maintain functional position. Ankle-foot orthoses can be used to control spastic horseshoe foot deformity of the ankle joint.  2. Relaxation therapy: For generalized spasticity, relaxation is an effective treatment. For example, patients with stroke or cerebral palsy are allowed to flex their hips and knees in supine position, the therapist fixes the knees and ankles and rocks them from side to side, uses the barbell in different positions, and passively rotates the trunk in multiple positions.  3. Inhibit abnormal reflexive patterns: Use neurodevelopmental techniques such as control of key points to inhibit abnormal reflexive patterns; give the patient an opportunity to re-adapt and re-learn through daily activity training, such as asking the hemiplegic patient to use both upper limbs to facilitate the body to stand up from a sitting position: firstly, keep the body balanced, symmetrical and stable in a sitting position, hold the hands crossed together and lift both upper limbs on a high seat with the pelvis tilted forward. Weights are placed appropriately on the legs and feet, and repeated sit-stand training not only allows the patient to learn to master the timing of muscle activity, but also makes it easy to stand up because the elevated sitting position reduces the force of using the extensor muscles and helps to inhibit abnormal patterns of lower extremity flexion, thereby inhibiting spasticity. In addition, encouraging ambulatory patients to participate in some form of functional activity such as walking, swimming, and bicycle exercises can help reduce muscle stiffness and also serve as an effective anti-spasticity treatment.  4, other physical therapy: many physical factors can make the muscle tone get different degrees of temporary reduction, so as to relieve spasticity. (1) cold therapy: such as ice, ice water immersion, the flexion of the spastic hand in ice water soaked in 5 ~ 10s and then removed, repeated several times after the finger can be relatively easy passive loosening.  (2) Electrical stimulation therapy: alternating electrical stimulation therapy for spastic muscles and their antagonists uses cross-inhibition and Golgi tendon apparatus excitation to cause inhibition to counteract spasticity. There are also spinal cord energization therapy, spastic muscle electrical stimulation therapy, rectal electrode implantation electrical stimulation method.  (3) Thermo-therapy: various types of conduction heat, radiation heat, and endogenous heat.  (4) Warm bath: Patients are treated in a swimming pool or Hubbard tank with a certain water temperature, using the effect of temperature and performing passive joint activities, which can also relieve spasticity.  When spasticity cannot be relieved by drugs and other methods, surgical treatment can be considered. The purpose of relieving spasticity is achieved by destroying certain parts of the nerve pathway. This includes nerve dissection, highly selective spinal nerve root dissection, partial spinal cord dissection, tendon dissection or tendon lengthening.