Spasticity: Mechanism, Measurement, Management.

This short book presents a thorough discussion of spasticity from both the physiological and clinical points of view. The author defines the central feature of spasticity as the increased stretch reflex and then presents the anatomy and physiology of the components of the reflex arc and of the suprasegmental influences on reflex activity. On this background, he discusses human spasticity including the important features of cerebral and spinal spasticity, spinal shock, and the roles of alpha and gamma motor neurons. He describes several methods by which spasticity has been measured and finds none of them clearly satisfactory. The largest section of the book is devoted to the management of spasticity. After discussing the action of several drugs, the author concludes that "the ideal drug against spasticity does not exist." Various types of physical therapy are summarized. The uses of alcohol and phenol injection are pointed out; the latter is more