Currently, there is no cure for spasticity, but there are options that can help your patients manage their symptoms.
About Severe Spasticity
Spasticity Management Options
REHABILITATION THERAPY
Physical, occupational or speech therapy may help manage symptoms. Patients can receive rehabilitation therapy alone or along with other treatments.
MEDICINE
Severe spasticity can be managed using oral medications or ITB Therapy (intrathecal baclofen therapy) .
ITB Therapy is an established and widely accepted treatment option for severe spasticity. More than 60,000 baclofen pumps have been implanted worldwide since 1992. Studies show that ITB Therapy reduces spasticity and spasms.4
How ITB Works
In severe cases of spasticity, baclofen can be administered through a pump that has been surgically implanted in the patient’s abdomen.4
The sealed ITB pump has a chamber. It holds enough liquid baclofen to give up to 180 days of treatment for some patients. The pump is programmed to give medicine all the time, and you can adjust the amount of baclofen delivered.4
Why Pump Therapy Is Different
Baclofen taken orally must move through the digestive system before reaching a certain point in the central nervous system. An ITB pump sends the medicine right to the fluid around the spine. Because of this, it works at a lower dose than oral baclofen.4
Oral baclofen may need to be taken as often as 3 to 4 times a day. An ITB pump is a personalized, programmable pump to release medicine all the time, so your patients don’t need to think about taking it.4
SURGERY
Surgeries are available to improve function of tendons, muscles and/or bones. Surgery on the nerves that go into the spinal cord may also be an option.