Muscle stiffness
Exercise, including muscle stretching, can help make your symptoms less severe. Home-based physical therapy is also helpful
Your doctor will perform a physical exam and ask questions about your symptoms, including:
Your doctor may refer you to a physical therapist. Physical therapy consists of variety of exercises, including muscle stretching and strengthening exercises. Physical therapy exercises can be taught to parents who may then help their child perform them at home.
Medicines for spasticity include baclofen, tizanidine, cyclobenzaprine, and benzodiazepines. In rare cases, a pump may be inserted into the spinal fluid to directly deliver medicine to the nervous system.
Botox injections may help relieve spasticity symptoms in some patients.
Sometimes, a person may need surgery to release the tendon or to cut the the nerve-muscle pathway.
Griggs R, Jozefowicz R, Aminoff M. Approach to the patient with neurologic disease. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 418.
Hammerstad J. Strength and reflexes. In: Goetz, CG, ed. Textbook of Clinical Neurology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 15.