Spasticity Matters: A Call to Action Following an Acute Stroke

More than half of survivors of stroke experience some degree of motor impairment, and spasticity can develop within days of the initial event. Patients with post-stroke spasticity (PSS) report a lower quality of life than those without spasticity, and they require regular long-term follow-up and monitoring within the healthcare system. This symposium supported a non-promotional discussion regarding the prevalence, burden, consequences, and need for identification of PSS. The benefits of PSS identification within 3 months of stroke were discussed by a panel of key opinion leaders, including Ted Wein, Neurologist and Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Ganesh Bavikatte, Consultant and Clinical Lead in rehabilitation medicine at the Walton Centre, Liverpool, and Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Liverpool, UK; and Sean Savitz, Professor of Neurology and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Frank M. Yatsu MD Chair in Neurology, and Director of the Institute for Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Texas, US. These key opinion leaders explained that early prediction of PSS could be improved by increased awareness of the associated risk factors and tools, such as the Post-Stroke Checklist (PSC), the Spasticity Screening Tool, and the PSS Referral Tool. Finally, potential barriers to the early identification of PSS were presented, alongside strategies to overcome these barriers.