West Park Healthcare Centre Spasticity Program

Within one year of suffering a stroke, 8 out of 10 stroke survivors will develop spasticity.

Imagine if everyday tasks - like walking or opening your hand - became impediments. Or if dressing or undressing yourself became impossible. This is the reality many stroke survivors face.

About Spasticity

Simply put, spasticity occurs when muscles no longer respond to signals from the central nervous system telling them to relax and remain contracted instead because of damage to part of the brain. The result is a loss of function causing the impairment of hands, arms, legs or feet.

Due to our aging population, the number of stroke survivors in the general population is expected to take a quantum leap in the next two decades - with the incidence of stroke climbing from 50,000 a year currently to more than 80,000 annually by 2027. Given these statistics, calculating the individuals afflicted with spasticity is quite literally unfathomable.

Unfortunately, spasticity as a medical condition is under-recognized, under-diagnosed and under-treated. The costs are enormous. The quality of life enjoyed by stroke survivors is significantly imperilled, while the burden to society is increasingly onerous. The time has never been better and more important for West Park to embark on the creation of a multidisciplinary Spasticity Program.

Since West Park’s Spasticity Program started in 2003, outpatient volumes at West Park have increased by 500% and it now handles 250 stroke patient visits a year. This is in addition to visits from other patients who suffer from spasticity as a result of Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, and brain or spinal cord injury.

Transforming Lives & Healthcare – Benefits to the Community

 FOR PATIENTS:

• Effective spasticity management avoids chronic skin problems, contractures, falls and other complications leading to improved physical and mental health
• It allows improved transition between care providers across the healthcare continuum by promoting system integration
  
• Would remedy the current gap in treatments available to youth with spasticity by expanding the treatment program to include the intrathecal pump system

FOR PATIENTS FAMILIES:

• Reduces the personal and economic burden of care and improves their quality of life by providing system supports
• Educational programs & other resources would provide support to caring for loved ones at home as long as possible

FOR PRIMARY CARE PRACTITIONERS & SPECIALISTS:

• Provides a resource for specialized consultation & treatment plus opportunities for continuing education
• Optimal rehabilitative care results in fewer visits to doctors offices and emergency rooms and premature admissions to long-term care homes

FOR THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM:

• Opportunities to conduct research in collaboration with acute care and rehabilitation facilities that explores, documents and shares best practices to advance spasticity management and optimal use of healthcare resources.

Please click here to donate to West Park's spasticity program in memory of dear Francesca.