Spasticity after stroke: physiology, assessment and treatment.

BACKGROUND Spasticity following a stroke occurs in about 30% of patients. The mechanisms underlying this disorder, however, are not well understood. METHOD This review aims to define spasticity, describe hypotheses explaining its development after a stroke, give an overview of related neuroimaging studies as well as a description of the most common scales used to quantify the degree of spasticity and finally explore which treatments are currently being used to treat this disorder. RESULTS The lack of consensus is highlighted on the basis of spasticity and the associated absence of guidelines for treatment, use of drugs and rehabilitation programmes. CONCLUSIONS Future studies require controlled protocols to determine the efficiency of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for spasticity. Neuroimaging may help predict the occurrence of spasticity and could provide insight into its neurological basis.