Case report: muscle rupture after minimal trauma of the spastic muscle: three case reports of patients with spinal cord injury

Carpentier et al.¹ reported that muscle rupture is a rare complication of chronic spasticity and that to the best of their knowledge, this spasticity-related complication is not yet described in spinal cord injury patients. This is incorrect.

Snoecx et al.² carried out a study in Belgium on heterotopic calcification in traumatic paraplegic patients in 1995 and found by serial studies that there were tears of the psoas muscle that preceded the development of heterotopic bone.

I was interested in the subject of trauma and tears to the muscles in paraplegic patients because I believed that it was the precursor of heterotopic bone formation. In 1969, I postulated on the findings of five traumatic paraplegic patients, that there was a striking relationship of heterotopic bone formation to passive movements and trauma.³

Snoecx et al.² article is important as it provides further evidence for the development of muscle rupture after minimal trauma to spastic muscles.