Modified Ashworth Scale

Excerpt

The Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) is the most widely used clinical tool for measuring increased muscle tone. Spasticity was defined by Jim Lance in 1980 as a velocity-dependent increase in muscle stretch reflexes associated with increased muscle tone, as a component of upper motor neuron syndrome. Spasticity arises from various causes, including brain injury, stroke, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, trauma, and spinal cord injury. A study examining the prevalence of spasticity in stroke populations found that 42.6% of stroke patients developed spasticity, with severe cases occurring in 15.6% of patients. Another study examining the prevalence of spasticity in cerebral palsy identified spastic subtypes in 90% of the patients studied. The impact of severe spasticity on a patient's life is far-reaching, affecting everything from activities of daily living to mental health and even income. On the other hand, spasticity can be helpful in patients with weak limbs, especially in the lower extremities, by enabling the patient to transfer or ambulate with less assistance. For these reasons, assessing spasticity is crucial for practitioners to determine the effectiveness of their treatment therapies.