Spastic paralysis is a condition in which there is poor control over the muscles as a result of damage to the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). The damage that causes the condition can occur at or before birth. Spastic paralysis can also develop after birth if an infection, such as meningitis, damages the brain, or if damage results from strokes, skull fractures, or other injuries.
The part of the central nervous system that is damaged and the amount of damage done determine which muscles are affected and how severely. Sometimes the damage is so slight that the individual may have only a little clumsiness, a slight loss of balance, or a slight speech difficulty. In severe cases, victims cannot walk. Or they may walk on their toes with their feet turned inward, their knees together, and with one leg crossing over in front of the other, in the typical “scissors gait.” Spastic paralysis can affect all the muscles. The face, the tongue, and even the muscles that control breathing may be affected. This may result in uncontrollable grimacing, drooling, and difficulty in speaking.
Some people suffering from spastic paralysis are completely normal, except for their difficulties in controlling the affected muscles. However, in other cases, brain injury affects intelligence. Nevertheless, some people with spastic paralysis have above-average intelligence.
The damage to the nervous system cannot be cured, but the use of the muscles can be improved through surgery, training, and the use of crutches and braces. Spastic patients can be taught to speak more effectively, to care for themselves, and to earn their own living. In the mid-1970’s, surgeons began using brain pacemakers to treat spastic paralysis. The pacemaker electrically stimulates the cerebellum, a part of the brain, and helps relieve spastic paralysis in some patients.
The spastic patient should be treated as a normal person, except for the special training that may be required to improve muscle use. For example, spastic children should be encouraged to play with other children. People should understand that spastic paralysis is not a communicable disease, that it is not inherited, and that it is not a form of mental illness.
