Question
hi :)

i'm a massage therapist and the majority of my clients are young people with disability...quite a few of which are spinal or traumatic brain injury resulting in quadraplegia...
they all have different things going on with their bodies...some are in a state of hyper extension...some hyper flexion...some flacid..
one of the boys that i've been working with for over a year has started to show signs of reflex when i press into his pecs and under his armpit...he has an injury at C2 and is quadraplegic..his arms lift and almost hit me!..he has a big laugh when this happens...this client is non verbal so can't tell me what he's feeling..
i have asked some nursing staff and other practitioners what happens to reflexes with spinal injuries...no-one seems to be able to explain anything to me in much detail...
this hasn't always happened with this client...
doesn't there need to be a message traveling through the nerves for this to happen?...and if so does it mean that this client has some feeling in these areas?
i would really appreciate some explanation as to what is happening...i can't help but prey everyday that this boy will regain some quality of life and hope that this may be the first signs....am i being overly optimistic??

thank you...
namaste

Answer
Hi Stefany,  

I found the following explanation on http://www.apparelyzed.com/spasticity.html

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Once spinal shock wears off, the natural reflex which is present in everyone reappears. Spasticity is an exaggeration of the normal reflexes that occur when the body is stimulated in certain ways. In an abled bodied person, a stimulus to the skin is sensed, and a sensory signal is sent to the reflex arch where it travels to the brain via the spinal cord, the brain then assesses the stimulant, and if the stimulant is thought not to be dangerous, an inhibitory signal is set down the spinal cord, and cancels the reflex from moving the muscle.

In a person with a spinal cord injury this inhibitory signal is blocked by the structural damage in the cord, and the natural reflex is allowed to continue resulting in a contraction of the muscle.

Muscle spasms can occur in a person with a spinal cord injury any time the body is stimulated below the level of injury. This is usually noticeable when a muscle is stretched, or there is a painful stimulant below the level of injury. Because of the injury to the spinal cord, these sensations can trigger the reflex resulting in the muscle to contract or spasm.
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I hope this clears things up for you. I'm sorry if it is not what you wanted to hear, but I believe this to be an accurate explanation. Take care and keep up the good work you are doing for  others.

Sincerely, Ken