Are early clinical manifestations of spasticity associated with long-term functional outcome following spinal cord injury? A retrospective study.

Study Design: Retrospective study of a prospective cohort of patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI).

Objectives: Determine the relationship between the occurrence of early spasticity, defined as the development of signs and/or symptoms of spasticity during the hospitalization in traumatology, and the functional outcome 6-12 months following a SCI. Secondly, to determine the specific impact of early clonus, velocity-dependent hypertonia and/or muscle spasms on the functional outcome at the same timepoint.

Setting: Single trauma center specialized in SCI care.

Methods: One hundred sixty-two patients sustaining an acute traumatic SCI were included in the analyses. Comparative analysis was performed to describe the characteristics of patients with early spasticity. Correlations were performed to determine the relationship between the clinical signs of spasticity and the Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM) scores collected 6-12 months after SCI.

Results: 51.9% of the cohort developed clinical signs of spasticity during the hospitalization in traumatology (29.7 days) following SCI. These showed a significantly lower total SCIM score and subscores compared to individuals without early spasticity at follow-up (p < 0.05). After adjusting for confounding factors, the occurrence of early spasms was only clinical sign of spasticity significantly associated with a decreased mobility at follow-up (r = -0.17, p = 0.04).

Conclusions: The development of signs and symptoms of spasticity, in particular the occurrence of spasms in the first month following the injury may be associated with decreased functional outcome and mobility. Early assessment of spasticity following SCI is thus recommended.