Abstract
Motor deficits are the most common impairment acutely after stroke and persist in nearly half of all patients.1,2 Although much focus is on hemiparesis in this setting, injury to the motor system does not produce a homogenous clinical syndrome. Instead, weakness may be accompanied by other negative findings such as slowness and fatigue and by positive findings such as synkinesia and spasticity. Spasticity is a state of increased tone with exaggerated reflexes resulting from upper motor neuron injury. It is a condition of many contrasts. Reduced activity in one area, the descending motor tracts, results in increased activity in another area, the skeletal muscles. Spasticity is common across neurological conditions, yet accurate measurement is difficult. It is associated …
Highlights
Background and PurposeThere is no consensus concerning the number of patients developing spasticity or the relationship between spasticity and disabilities after acute stroke
The correlations between muscle tone and disability scores were low, and severe disabilities were seen in almost the same number of nonspastic as spastic patients
Conclusions— spasticity seems to contribute to disabilities after stroke, spasticity was present in only 19% of the patients investigated 3 months after stroke
Summary
The aim of the present study was to describe the extent to which spasticity occurs and is associated with disabilities. The aim of the present study was to describe to what extent spasticity occurs and is associated with disabilities initially and 3 months after first-ever stroke
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