Baclofen : stiffness, rigidity and tension in muscles (spasticity)
The concept of spasticity implies a particular state of muscles characterized by a pronounced tone, increasing with tension and causing resistance during passive movement. Spasticity makes it difficult to move and speak freely; the patient can't control his/her limbs.
The exact causes of spasticity have not yet been studied in Australia. It has been established that spasticity is manifested in combined lesions of certain structures of the brain and spinal cord, which leads to an imbalance of nerve impulses. Spasticity is usually the result of damage to the parts of the brain or spinal cord.
Spasticity is observed in the patients:
- with a spastic and spastic-hyperkinetic form of cerebral palsy;
- after craniocerebral and spinal injury;
- with hypoxia (lack of oxygen);
- after a stroke;
- after encephalitis and meningitis;
- with adrenoleukodystrophy;
- with phenylketonuria;
- with multiple sclerosis.
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Symptoms of spasticity
Spasticity is manifested by involuntary muscle twitching. It is also accompanied by weakness and pain. At the same time, pain is not a constant companion of spasticity. Most often, it is caused by sudden movements, followed by a spasm of the limb; pain can also occur when the patient's position changes (for example, when people try to seat the patient).
Spasticity: symptoms and treatment
Spastic limbs don't obey; they become stiff or, on the contrary, weak. Patients with spasticity of muscles can feel both resistance and weakness of extremities, which is a consequence of neuromuscular conduction. At the same time, taking medications can relieve spasticity, but the weakness in the limbs will remain.
Other symptoms of spasticity are clonuses, sharp contractions of individual muscles and their groups, manifested during stretching, as well as general fatigue and loss of dexterity.
As a rule, patients define spasticity as muscle stiffness, weakness in the limbs, and their resistance during flexion.
Methods of treating spasticity
Spasticity is treatable. There are several proven methods relieving the symptoms of spasticity. After a course of treatment for spasticity, the pain passes, muscle spasm relieves, and the motor function improves so that the patient can begin to take care of himself/herself.
Physiotherapeutic method of treatment includes gymnastics, massage, and acupuncture. The patient is taught to change position (get up, sit down, and walk). Physiotherapy improves movement and muscle tone.
Drug therapy is a more serious treatment for spasticity. As a rule, it is carried out using two or more pharmacological drugs, which include baclofen, datrolene, gabaleptin, botulinum toxin, benzodiazepines, and imidazoline.
Oral or parenteral medications can be used to treat spasticity. Decreasing muscle tone, antispasmodic agents can improve motor functions, facilitate the care of immobilized patients, relieve painful muscle cramps, enhance the effect of physiotherapy exercises and therefore prevent the development of contracture. However, in patients who have retained the ability to move independently, antispastic agents sometimes worsen standing and walking, since spastic limb muscles can perform an important supporting function when walking. Therefore, an individual approach to their prescription is required. Treatment with antispastic agents begins with a minimum dose, and then it is slowly increased to achieve an effect. To buy Lioresal is recommended for muscles rigidity treatment.
What is Baclofen action
Baclofen is a drug prescribed in cases where sedative and analgesic effects are necessary. Indications for its use are head injuries, meningitis, cardiovascular issues, etc. Generic Lioresal is also very famous in the circles of people who use drugs due to its euphoric effect and low cost.
Baclofen was developed to treat epileptic diseases. It was first synthesized in the distant 1960s. Studies have not shown good results in the treatment of epilepsy. But an improvement was revealed in patients who had the following diseases:
- Muscle cramps;
- Strokes in history;
- Head injuries.
Initially, Lioresal pills had to be administered in one way - through the oral cavity. But in the future, the method of drug administration through the spinal cord showed more positive results in the treatment. Moreover, it didn't have any side effects, which can't be said about simple pills, and Lioresal price is considered low. To date, Lioresal online is used for the treatment of a number of diseases.
One method of suppressing spasticity is the implantation of Baclofen pump. Being a hydrophilic compound, Baclofen penetrates poorly through the blood-brain barrier, which leads to the low concentrations of the substance in case of oral intake. Intrathecal use of the drug allows you to reduce the dosage of baclofen by 100 times. Thus, you'll achieve the same effect as in the case of oral intake, avoiding side effects. Intrathecal administration of Lioresal without prescription has a pharmacological effect selective for the spinal cord, as the subarachnoid concentration of intrathecal baclofen is reduced in the cranial direction along the spinal cord with a lumbar/cistern ratio of about 4:1.
Baclofen pump
Cheap Lioresal is administered using a software pump placed subcutaneously in the anterior abdominal wall and a catheter connected to the subarachnoid space of the spinal cord, which provides direct production of high concentrations of the drug in the spinal cord (dosage is approximately 100 times less than with oral use); the end of the catheter is located in the lumbar region or the central part of thoracic spine. This is necessary to obtain a higher concentration of the drug in the thoracic and cervical spinal cord and reduce the spasticity of the muscles of the trunk and upper limbs.