SPASTICITY, PSEUDOSPONTANEOUS SPASMS, AND OTHER REFLEX ACTIVITIES LATE AFTER INJURY TO THE SPINAL CORD

Introduction

Posture

Distribution of postures of flexion and extension with and without spasticity in relation to levels of lesions, time and injury, and completeness and incompleteness of injury

Stretch Reflexes: Spasticty, Myotatic, Pluck, and Deep Reflexes

• Spasticity: frequency; relation to level of injury; distribution in various muscle groups; relation to completeness of injury

• Myotatic reflexes and spasticity

• Pluck reflex: frequency; distribution; correlation with certain deep reflexes and clonus

• Spasticity as resultant of a number of different stretch, nociceptive, and body reflexes

Conventional Reflexes

In anatomically complete lesions; deep reflexes and levels of lesions; plantar reflexes

Exteroceptive and Other Reflexes

• Various patterns of ipsilateral and contralateral responses; frequency of contralateral reflexes; efficacy of stimuli; responsiveness of reflexogenous zones; successive reflexes; appearance of complicated movements supplanting simple flexion and extension; assessment of total activity of distal segment; relation to level of lesion and its severity

• A newly described crossed gluteal reflex