Formål
Modificeret Tardieu Skala er en skala til vurdering af spasticitet hos neurologiske patienter. Skalaen blev beskrevet første gang i 1954 og blev i 1964 modificeret af Held et al (Held J, Pierrot-Deseilligny E: ”Reeducation Motrice des Affections Neurologiques”. Paris, 1969). Det er den modificerede udgave, der anvendes i dag. 

Der er ikke fundet danske oversættelser af MTS. 

Beskrivelse
Det følgende er et uddrag af Gracies JM, Marosszeky JE, Renton R, Sandanam J, Gandevia SC, Burke D. ”Short-term effects of dynamic lycra splints on upper limb in hemiplegic patients”. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2000; 81(12):1547-1555, hvor MTS beskrives nærmere (abstrakt på PubMed): 

Grading is always performed at the same time of the day, in a constant position of the body for a given limb. Other joints, particularly the neck, must also remain in a constant position throughout the test and between tests. For each muscle group, reaction to stretch is rated at a specified stretch velocity with 2 parameters, X and Y.

Velocity of stretch:
V1: As slow as possible (minimizing stretch reflex).
V2: Speed of the limb segment falling under gravity.
V3: As fast as possible (faster than the rate of the natural drop of the limb segment under gravity).
V1 is used to measure the passive range of motion (PROM). Only V2 or V3 are used to rate spasticity.

Quality of muscle reaction (X):
0: No resistance throughout the course of the passive movement.
1: Slight resistance throughout the course of the passive movement, with no clear catch at a precise angle.
2: Clear catch at a precise angle, interrupting the passive movement, followed by release.
3: Fatigable clonus (,10 seconds when maintaining pressure) occurring at a precise angle.
4: Infatigable clonus (.10 seconds when maintaining pressure) occurring at a precise angle.

Angle of muscle reaction (Y): measured relative to the position of minimal stretch of the muscle (corresponding to angle 0) for all joints except hip, where it is relative to the resting anatomic position.

Vurdering
Hos patienter med svær hjerneskade har Mehrholz et al. i 2005 (abstrakt på Sage Online) påvist acceptabel reliabilitet af Modificeret Tardieu Skala - og bedre reliabilitet end spasticitet, der vurderes med Ashworth Scale. Det skal bemærkes, at der var tale om terapeuter med mere end to års erfaring med patientgruppen, og at der var givet undervisning i spasticitetsvurdering.

At vurdere spasticitet er en kompliceret opgave, og det må anbefales, at området belyses nærmere, før spasticitetsvurdering anvendes i daglig klinisk praksis.