Reduction of lower limb spasticity after the suppression of intravesical noxious stimulus documented by gait analysis

Context Spasticity is characterized by muscle hypertonia due to a velocity-dependent increase in tonic stretch reflexes, mostly related to hyperactive spinal reflexes. After spinal cord injury, the impact of noxious stimuli on autonomic dysreflexia is well documented. It is admitted in clinical practice that sublesional noxious stimuli can also increase spasticity. However, this has never been reported in the literature. In this single case study, we describe the impact of a noxious stimulus (bladder stone) on the spasticity of lower limbs in a male with spinal cord injury, using quantitative gait analysis before and after stone removal.