Comprehensive Spasticity Care

Living with muscle stiffness from spasticity — due to a brain injury or a health condition such as multiple sclerosis — can turn your every move into a battle. At Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Neuroscience Institute, we can help.

Our team includes neurologists, neurosurgeons, and other specialists who help hundreds of patients every year find relief from involuntary muscle rigidity. We provide every patient with a comprehensive evaluation and a customized treatment plan that helps you overcome muscle spasticity symptoms and enjoy a fuller life with less pain.

What is spasticity?

Spasticity is a medical condition that affects the body’s muscles, causing stiffness or tightness for extended periods of time. This condition is caused by a breakdown in how the brain and nervous system relay messages to your muscles.

Spasticity affects more than 12 million people around the world. It is a common symptom of certain medical conditions, such as cerebral palsy, stroke, and multiple sclerosis.

Spasticity symptoms can make everyday tasks difficult. But you don’t need to live with this frustration. There are treatments available that can improve symptoms for many people.

Comprehensive spasticity care at AHN: Why choose us?

People with muscle stiffness and pain from spasticity choose AHN because of our:

• Expert team: AHN has some of the nation’s foremost experts in the diagnosis and treatment of movement disorders. Our network includes several physicians who have received special training in spasticity and related conditions. We treat more patients with muscle spasticity than most hospitals in the area. We are committed to helping you find symptom relief and improving your quality of life.
• Wide range of treatment options: We use oral medications and Botox® injection therapy to help many people move past muscle rigidity symptoms. For more severe types of spasticity, our neurosurgeons perform a specialized procedure, called intrathecal baclofen pump surgery, which can provide significant relief.
• Convenient care: At our comprehensive spasticity clinic, our skilled specialists address multiple needs at one time, whenever possible. You can get a full evaluation, medication adjustments, and injection treatments — all at one place, often in one visit.
• Customized treatment plans: We develop a thoughtful care plan that addresses your symptoms and challenges. Your treatment plan may include medication, injection therapy, physical therapy, surgery — or a combination of these treatments.
• Long-term follow-up: Many people with muscle spasticity experience challenges with movement for years to come. We stay in regular contact with our patients, helping you maintain your overall health and well-being.

Conditions we treat

Many neurological issues can cause the muscles to stiffen. Our team evaluates and manages people who have spasticity due to a wide range of conditions, including:

• Traumatic brain injury
• Spinal cord injury
  
• Stroke
  
• Multiple sclerosis
• Cerebral palsy 
• Dystonia
• Essential tremor
• Parkinson’s disease

Get expert spasticity treatment at AHN

You’ll receive care from a network of spasticity experts, including board-certified neurologists, neurosurgeons, and rehab physicians. Our hospitals use the latest technologies and therapies to diagnose and treat patients, tailoring care plans to your symptoms and circumstances.

We offer a range of innovative spasticity treatments, including oral medications, injection therapy, and physical or occupational therapy. Certain patients experience significant symptom relief from neurosurgical procedures, such as intrathecal baclofen pump surgery, which delivers medication directly to a precise spot in the spinal cord. AHN has the capabilities to perform these procedures at multiple locations while also coordinating all other aspects of spasticity care.

Contact us

To schedule an appointment or learn more about services at the AHN Comprehensive Spasticity Clinic, call (412) 359-8850.

If you're an existing patient, you can also call (412) DOCTORS (412) 362-8677 in Pittsburgh or request an appointment with AHN neuroscience services.

Find us

AHN Comprehensive Spasticity Clinic
320 E. North Ave, Hemlock Bldg. 3rd Floor
Pittsburgh, PA  15212
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