Home Care:

Exercise, including muscle stretching, can help make your symptoms less severe. Home-based physical therapy is also helpful.

Call your health care provider if:

Contact your health care provider if:

• The spasticity gets worse
• You notice deformity of the affected areas

What to expect at your health care provider's office:

Your doctor will perform a physical exam and ask questions about your symptoms, including:

• When was it first noticed?
• How long has it lasted?
• Is it always present?
• How severe is it?
• What muscles are affected?
• What makes it better?
• What makes it worse?
• What other symptoms are present?

Your doctor may refer you to a physical therapist. Physical therapy involves different exercises, including muscle stretching and strengthening exercises. Physical therapy exercises can be taught to parents who may then help their child do them at home.

Medicines for spasticity include baclofen, benzodiazepines (such as diazepam), clonidine, dantrolene, gabapentin, and tizanidine. Botulinum toxin can be injected into the spastic muscles. In rare cases, a pump may be inserted into the spinal fluid to directly deliver medicine to the nervous system.

Sometimes, a person may need surgery to release the tendon or to cut the nerve-muscle pathway.