Relieving symptoms in paraplegia

Up to 80% of people with a spinal cord injury suffer from spasticity. Until now, they had to choose between drugs with severe side effects or risky surgery. Mathematician and neuroscientist Ursula Hofstötter from the Medical University of Vienna developed a procedure that alleviates spasticity and also improves mobility - without any drugs or surgery. In a spinal cord injury, the spinal cord and the nerve pathways running along it are damaged. This crucial part of the central nervous system controls various processes in the body. Therefore, in addition to paralysis of the limbs, motor, sensory as well as autonomic functions may also be impaired. Many sufferers struggle with spasticity, a painful rise in muscle tension or muscle spasms, and this further reduces already diminished voluntary motor function (consciously controlled movement).