Spastic Displasia and Chiari

General
1

Has anyone heard of a connection between chiari and spastic Displasia? The symptoms are tight calf muscles with tendonitis in some instances. I thought this was more of a cerebral palsy issue but wondered if anyone knows of a connection with chiari.
Thanks :). JoAnne

2

Thanks Abby! That’s great information to have! In the case of the spastic Displasia there’s no hyper mobility in fact it’s the opposite of being flexible. Range of motion is restricted and muscles are contracted instead of loose. It’s considered a neurological issue instead of a systemic disease. Just wondering if Chiari and spastic Displasia can be related. Thanks again :slight_smile:

3

Hi Thistle! Are you doing specific exercises to loosen the calf muscles and/or going to physical therapy? I understand that theoretically chiari or any neurological disorder can cause spasticity however I was looking for real life experience such as yours. So you have hyper reflexes and right calf muscles? Have you had decompression surgery? Thanks! JoAnne

4

this is an interesting topic, as i was a really bad toe-walker as a child. Nothing was ever done to correct it though. I’d be curious to know how many of you who were diagnosed as adults remember being a “toe walker” as a child?

5

My 7 year old son is a toe walker. Strangely enough, that is how they found out about his Chiari. We have decompression surgery this Friday :frowning:

6

Thanks for the response…just what I was looking for. It seems the treatment for this is PT with exercises and other therapy to address the tightness. One doctor mentioned that any abnormal pressures in the brain can cause this just as Abby mentioned above. Not all toe walkers have chiari just as not all chiarians have spastic Displasia. Glad to know the exercises are helping. I suppose the hyper reflexes are “normal” for people even after decompression surgery. Tami, good luck to you and your precious son.

7

Thank you! Thus all came so quickly… I appreciate your prayers

8

I know this discussion is old and I’m not sure how I came across it but I’m glad I did. I was just diagnosed with CM type 1 last month. And my 4 yr old daughter has spasticity in her left leg. We saw a neurologist for her just last week. She is a toe walker. She is having an MRI done in April and I was wondering the same thing. Did you happen to find anything out?