Spasticity After Spinal Cord Injury

About this trial

This is a clinical trial enrolling individuals with incomplete spinal cord injuries to study spasticity. Spasticity is common in SCI, ranging from mild stiffness or tightening of muscles to uncontrollable muscle contractions. One of the goals of this study is to better understand the specific spinal cord nerve pathways responsible for spasticity. Transcranial magnetic stimulation and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will be used to measure activity of spinal cord nerves. Participants will undergo 2-3 study visits with muscle and nerve testing and MRI. These imaging studies will be associated with clinical measures of spasticity, combining exercise training with an acoustic (sound) startle stimulus on arm and leg function. The goal is to improve arm and leg muscle recovery by enhancing control over spinal cord nerve networks. Participants do not have to have spasticity to participate in this study.