#57: OT for Spasticity in Adults with Scott Thompson

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Read full episode transcript: Downloadable PDF (180.5 KB)
Full Course Details: Public course page
Learn more about our guest: Scott Thompson, OTD, MOT, OTR/L, CSRS, LSVT BIG

Read the article and discussion upon which this podcast is based.

Released June 5, 2023.

Spasticity can be present in many of the conditions we treat as occupational therapy professionals.

And, it can add significant cost and burden for our patients.

The article we are discussing in this 1-hour course gives you a big picture overview of the science behind what we know (and don’t know!) about spasticity.

You’ll find certain approaches (that I’ve personally used!) that have NOT been supported by the research—but also which modalities have a growing body of evidence behind them.

After reviewing the research, we’ll be joined on the podcast by neuro OT, Scott Thompson, OTD, MOT, OTR/L, CRSR, LSVT-BIG to discuss implications for your practice!

Primary Journal Article Explored

When you log in, be sure to check out the OT Potential Club’s written breakdown of the following research article. Then, share your questions and thoughts with fellow practitioners.

Khan, F., Amatya, B., Bensmail, D., & Yelnik, A. (2019). Non-pharmacological interventions for spasticity in adults: An overview of systematic reviews. Annals of physical and rehabilitation medicine, 62(4), 265–273.

Supporting Research and Journal Articles

Kerr, L., Jewell, V. D., &; Jensen, L. (2020). Stretching and splinting interventions for poststroke spasticity, hand function, and functional tasks: A systematic review. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(5).

Park, J.-H., Kim, Y., Lee, K.-J., Yoon, Y.-S., Kang, S. H., Kim, H., &; Park, H.-S. (2019). Artificial Neural Network learns clinical assessment of spasticity in modified Ashworth Scale. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 100(10), 1907–1915.

Learning Objectives

  • You will be able to identify interventions with moderate quality evidence for reducing spasticity in adults
  • You will be able to recognize interventions with low quality evidence for reducing spasticity in adults

Resources

Starting and running your neuro OT clinic:

Clinical decision making related to spasticity:

Agenda

Intro (5 minutes)

Breakdown and analysis of journal article (5 minutes)

  • What is spasticity?
  • Prevalence in common conditions & increased burden
  • Current treatments
  • Why this review was needed
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Takeaways for OT practitioners

Discussion on practical implications for OTs (with Scott Thompson) (50 minutes)

  • Tell us how you first found OT.
  • How did you become interested in neuro OT and health tech?
  • What were your initial impressions of the article?
  • It seems like when I see a patient with spasticity on my caseload: I should begin thinking this is a patient with an increased burden for their condition, and that I need to be collaborating with a team. Is that true?
  • How do you assess spasticity?
  • How do you think about matching the mechanism of different treatment options, with specific types of spasticity?
  • What stood out to you about the different modalities that were listed?
  • Tell me about logistically how you use your fave modalities in the clinic?
  • Are there more options coming to the market for patients to be leveraging different modalities at home?
  • What do you see as the business models that will best serve patients in leveraging OT and health tech to manage their spasticity?

Contact Hours

1 hour (0.1 AOTA CEUs). Released online from Aurora, NE.

See public-facing course page for more details.

Speakers

Scott Thompson, OTD, MOT, OTR/L, CSRS, LSVT BIG

Scott Thompson, OTD, MOT, OTR/L, CSRS, LSVT BIG

Sarah Lyon, OTR/L

Sarah Lyon, OTR/L headshot

Ep57-AOTA-Badge

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Please share any other feedback below! Including, ideas for future programming, and most importantly, how you feel this podcast will impact your practice!

1 Like
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Appreciate the connection of spasticity to cost for clients.

1 Like
4

I found this pretty intense to listen to, it was quite detailed.

1 Like
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Oooo that is good feedback for me, @mandi! Do you wish some of the details were just provided as a written supplement? Balancing simiplicity with depth is something we are going to have to keep working on - as I can see the research coming out becoming more and more complex!

6

Agree with Mandi, however I appreciated the level of detail. A written outline to accompany (I listen often in the car - have a long commute) would be helpful for reference. I was so happy to have additional learning on this topic…I am in acute care, so do not have access to the tools discussed in the podcast, but love to have the knowledge to provide education to my patients and families regarding future care and management options for spasticity.

2 Likes
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Even though I don’t work with this population, I appreciate the summation of the findings. I still find it surprising just how much research is still needed for many of our modalities as well as building awareness of the practices that have been found not to be effective. I appreciate your work in making these findings more accessible!

1 Like
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Hi Sarah, Yes for my learning skills to have something in writing would be great to refer back to. I found a lot of it over my head and knowledge but still useful to listen to. Thank you for replying

10

Thought it was interesting that stretching does not have as much evidence behind it! Makes me want to take more continuing ed on NMES.

11

Loved this podcast. After listening to this article I am curious what neuro OTs are using for NMES. What’s your favorite devices? I like the Bioness, but its expensive and excessive to set-up. I am interested in a lot of the Saebo e-stim products. I feel like the NMES unit I have used in the hospital seem likely out-dated. I am sure the tech for this has improved in the past few years. I work in home care now and I have a patient who wants to purchase her own device. Any recommendations?

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12

I loved this article and speaker. It would have been nice to hear more about functional activities for Spasticity.

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I am planning on having a new stroke rehab course this fall- and will do my best to keep it functional!! (I guess depending on what the research says :slight_smile: