Medications such as baclofen that are typically used to treat spasticity can cause a number of side effects. If you or your child has been diagnosed with spasticity, you want relief from your symptoms, not more symptoms. When medications are not an option, our team at the UCLA Neuromodulation for Movement Disorders and Pain Program offers surgical treatment options.
Spasticity is a muscle disorder that causes overactive reflexes and muscle stiffness.
It can be caused by lesions in the brain or spinal cord. Everyone has reflexes, but in patients with spasticity, these lesions destroy the pathways from the brain that control them. They are caused by brain and spinal cord injuries, including:
People diagnosed with spasticity may experience the following symptoms:
If you've been diagnosed with spasticity, your doctor will first prescribe medications: diazepam, dantrolene or baclofen. When patients experience too many side effects from these drugs, or they don't work very well, doctors recommend surgical treatments:
Find out more about intrathecal baclofen therapy.