The unknown, debilitating stroke side effect many doctors don’t recognize

And even if doctors recognize it there are no treatments to cure it. I likely will have to live with this for the rest of my life. I see no hope of coming up with a cure until I am in charge. I don't give up. 
https://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/analysis/2018/06/25/the-unknown-debilitating-stroke-side-effect-many-doctors-dont-recognize.html

By Dr. Chris BouliasSpecial to the Star

Mon., June 25, 2018

Imagine your fist is tightly closed and you can’t open it. You can’t release it to open a jar, let alone pick up a pencil. Now imagine living with this condition for months or even years. This is spasticity.
Spasticity is a tightening of muscles in the limbs caused by neurological conditions. It affects the central nervous system and is most often found in people who have suffered from stroke, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis. The real tragedy is that this neurological disorder is often overlooked or misdiagnosed, resulting in complications that can worsen over time.

Across Canada, 75 per cent of family physicians could not correctly identify the definition of spasticity.  (Dreamstime)

Spasticity may feel like stiffness or tightness of muscles and it’s often painful to stretch the affected muscles. The main problem, though, is the way it hinders a person’s daily function: either active function, meaning you can’t reach; grasp a utensil to feed yourself; dress/undress; or walk, or passive function, where there is an increased burden of care on the caregiver, such as difficulty managing hygiene or helping to dress/undress their loved one.
For up to 365,000 Canadians living with this condition, it can be painful. Combine that with the inability to engage in day-to-day activities, and spasticity can seem insurmountable. Untreated spasticity can also lead to complications such as joint tightening and skin breakdown.
But spasticity can be treated(bullshit, it is not cured), giving patients the ability to get their lives back on track. Physicians are starting to understand that rehabilitation can really help. In the past decade, we’ve seen triple the number of patients treated at West Park Healthcare Centre’s rehabilitation clinic. When spasticity is caught in the early stages, it can most often be managed through a combination of exercise and medications or injections. We often videotape our patients to show them the progress they are making throughout their rehab journey — and the improvements are truly remarkable.

The key is to get even more doctors to recognize the condition and encourage their patients to seek treatment.
In two separate studies, my team found that at least half of Ontario family physicians don’t feel they are adequately trained to recognize spasticity and more than 90 per cent said they didn’t know enough to treat spasticity in their patients. Across Canada, 75 per cent of family physicians could not correctly identify the definition of spasticity.
Yet, in Toronto alone, there are potentially 13,000 stroke survivors living with spasticity who could benefit from neurological rehab.
In addition to making a concerted effort to train the current and next generation of doctors, our team often travels around the province to help teach other physicians how to recognize these signs and symptoms in their patients.