Causes
The cause of tetra spasticity is always damage to the central nervous system. This can have different causes and can have different characteristics: For example, in the course of a traumatic event (e.g. a fall from a great height), damage to the spinal cord can occur, which initially results in a flaccid paralysis, the so-called spinal shock, which can continue into tetraspactic spasm within 6-8 weeks. Another possibility is chronic progression, which is triggered by slowly progressing diseases.
These are for example tumors that spread to the nervous system, multiple sclerosis (MS) or an inflammation of the nerve sheaths, a so-called myelitis. These clinical pictures are usually characterized by a gradual progression and a steady worsening of spasticity. A rather rare cause is infantile cerebral palsy.
Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system. It involves inflammatory damage to the so-called myelin sheaths of the nerves and thus to the nerves themselves. The myelin sheaths are important for the isolation of the nerves and the rapid transmission of impulses.
MS is often intermittent, which can cause new neurological symptoms to appear quite suddenly, some of which disappear after some time, but it can also take a chronic course, with the symptoms becoming more or less severe. Tetraspasticity can be part of the clinical picture of multiple sclerosis. If this is the case, its severity depends on the form of the disease, which can be either intermittent or chronic.
Typically, there are also disorders of the eyes, sensory disturbances, damage to the cranial nerves and other symptoms. In general, the clinical picture varies greatly from individual to individual.
Diagnosis
Tetraspasticity usually does not represent a clinical picture of its own, but only the symptom of another disease, which is why no real diagnosis of tetraspasticity is made. In general, it is characterized by a strong tension of the muscles, which forces the body into unnatural postures.It starts from both arms and legs and can also affect the trunk and neck. This is often noticed at first sight, at the latest during a physical or neurological examination.
