Contributions of Motoneuron Hyperexcitability to Clinical Spasticity in Hemispheric Stroke Survivors

Spasticity, affecting up to 43% of chronic stroke survivors (Wissel et al., 2013), is diagnosed clinically as muscular hypertonia, coupled with other reflex disturbances. This hypertonia is defined as a velocity-dependent resistance to stretching due to exaggerated reflex responses (Lance, 1980). There are also concurrent mechanical changes of the muscular-tendon complex, which also contribute to increased muscle tone. Although spasticity can sometimes be beneficial for certain functional movements (e.g., making locomotion and body weight support possible), it is still a major neurological impairment that frequently limits motor functions of many stroke survivors.
Source: Clinical Neurophysiology - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Source Type: research