Spasticity occurs when certain nerve signals do not reach muscles because of injury or disease that affects certain parts of the brain or spinal cord. Common conditions associated with spasticity include cerebral palsy, brain injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and spinal cord injury. The following listing provides information about some of the organizations that may be helpful to people affected by spasticity.

American Stroke Association
The Brain Injury Association of America
Easter Seals
National Family Caregivers Association
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
National Spinal Cord Injury Association
National Stroke Association
United Cerebral Palsy
WE MOVE
The Well Spouse Association

American Stroke Association

The American Stroke Association is a division of the American Heart Association that focuses on reducing risk, disability and death from stroke through research, education, fund raising and advocacy. The American Heart Association created the American Stroke Association after many years of increasing emphasis on stroke. They spend more money on stroke research and programs than any other organization except the federal government. For more information, please visit www.strokeassociation.org.

The Brain Injury Association of America

The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) was founded in 1980 by a group of individuals who wanted to improve the quality of life for their family members who had sustained brain injuries. Despite phenomenal growth over the past two decades, the organization remains committed to its grassroots. BIAA encompasses a national network of more than 40 chartered, state affiliates across the country, as well as hundreds of local chapters and support groups.

Through programs geared for all ages, the BIAA devotes a great deal of effort toward teaching children and adults how to prevent brain injuries from occurring. The Association represents its interest in brain injury prevention through participation in national coalitions, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) injury and prevention projects, the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) TBI Program, SafeUSA Planning Council, the Healthy People 2010 Consortium, the Consortium for Persons with Disabilities, and the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) prevention programs. For more information, please visit www.biausa.org.

Easter Seals

Easter Seals has been helping individuals with disabilities and special needs, and their families, live better lives for more than 80 years. Whether helping someone improve physical mobility, return to work or simply gain greater independence for everyday living, Easter Seals offers a variety of services to help people with disabilities address life's challenges and achieve personal goals.

Through its nationwide network of more than 450 service sites, Easter Seals assists more than one million children and adults with disabilities. Each center provides top-quality, family-focused and innovative services tailored to meet the specific needs of the particular community it serves. Primary Easter Seals services include: medical rehabilitation, early intervention, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and hearing therapy, job training and employment, child care, adult day services, and camping and recreation. For more information, please visit www.easter-seals.org.

National Family Caregivers Association

The National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) empowers, supports, educates, and speaks up for the 50 million Americans who care for a chronically ill, aged, or disabled loved one.  NFCA reaches across the boundaries of different diagnoses, different relationships and different life stages to address the common needs and concerns of all family caregivers.

National Multiple Sclerosis Society

Founded in 1946, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is dedicated to ending the devastating effects of multiple sclerosis (MS). Through its home office and 50-state network of chapters, the Society supports research efforts, educates, provides a variety of empowering programs, organizes fund-raising events, and advocates for people with disabilities. The Society funds more MS research, offers more services to people with MS, and provides more professional education programs than any other MS organization in the world. In 2002 alone, the Society devoted more than $36 million to support over 300 MS research projects around the world and $102 million to programs designed to improve the lives of people with the disease. For information about MS or local programs offered, please call 1-800 FIGHT MS or visit www.nationalmssociety.org.

National Spinal Cord Injury Association

Since 1948, the National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA) has been dedicated to enabling people with spinal cord injury and disease (SCI/D) to achieve their highest level of independence, health, and quality of life. NSCIA actively advocates for best practices and public policies that proactively affect people with SCI/D, their families, and service providers.

The Association conducts public policy initiatives through its local chapters and at the national level and actively collaborates with other national organizations on issues of mutual concern. For more information, visit www.spinalcord.org.

National Stroke Association

Founded as a small but visionary organization in 1984, National Stroke Association (NSA) has grown to be the leading resource for stroke. NSA is the only national non-profit organization in the United States devoting 100 percent of its resources to stroke through a variety of innovative and high impact programs, including education, services and community-based activities in prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and recovery. NSA serves the public and professional communities —people at risk, patients and their health care providers, stroke survivors, and their families and caregivers.

As the voice for stroke, NSA is working to escalate stroke to the top of the national health agenda and create greater awareness for stroke prevention. The organization’s mission is to reduce the incidence and impact of this life-threatening medical condition. NSA strives to save lives, improve quality of care, and increase patient outcomes. For more information, please visit www.stroke.org.

United Cerebral Palsy

United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) is the leading source of information on cerebral palsy and is a pivotal advocate for the rights of persons with any disability. This national organization and its nationwide network of 110 affiliates in 39 states strive to ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities in every facet of society—from the Web to the workplace, from the classroom to the community.

UCP's national office serves people with disabilities and others through the development of forward-thinking programs, information and referral services, legislative advocacy, technology initiatives, and research.

UCP affiliates serve more than 30,000 children and adults with disabilities and their families every day through programs such as therapy, assistive technology training, early intervention programs, individual and family support, social and recreation programs, community living, state and local referrals, employment assistance, and advocacy. For more information, please visit www.ucp.org.

WE MOVE

WE MOVE is the Internet's most comprehensive resource for movement disorder information and education and the only organization of its kind. Since 1991, this not-for-profit organization has been educating and informing patients, professionals and the public about the latest clinical advances, management and treatment options for neurological movement disorders.

The organization strives to educate health professionals about movement disorders and their clinical management, develop resources and comprehensive educational materials about movement disorders for the world health care community, and assist professionals and patients in establishing and maintaining support groups around the world. For more information, please visit www.wemove.org.

The Well Spouse Association

The Well Spouse Association is a national, not-for-profit membership organization that supports wives, husbands, and partners of the chronically ill and/or disabled. The Well Spouse Association facilitates monthly support groups that provide an opportunity for members to share their thoughts and feelings with others facing similar circumstances in a supportive, non-judgmental environment. These support groups are also an excellent source for information on a wide range of practical issues facing spousal caregivers.

Additionally, the Well Spouse Association coordinates activities to help members who can’t get out too often break the bonds of isolation. At the same time, the organization works to make health care professionals and the general public aware of the difficulties caregivers face daily. For more information, please visit www.wellspouse.org.

About the Sponsor: Medtronic, Inc.

With the development of the pacemaker, Medtronic created a whole new industry based on medical technology. For more than 50 years, Medtronic has worked with physicians around the world to create products and therapies that alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life. These products and therapies help more than 1.5 million people each year. For more information, please visit www.spasticity.com.