Residual tone from a stroke patient is a near Physios worst nightmare to manage. I say managed as it never fully will “disappear” but can be “managed” or “dampened”. I am not talking about botox treatment, that is a whole different area of management. 

The effects of tone in both the upper and lower limb severely limits the short-term and long-term outcome goals and the person’s ability to improve. 

In my 35 years as a Physio working in both acute and long-term rehab, I have trialled a few of my own ideas that have worked well with my clients to help dampen their tone and improve their function of both the upper and lower limb mobility. 

For the upper limb, a basic wrist brace helps to extend the wrist/hand and decrease the flexor tone in the forearm and improve how the arm is positioned at the side and not flexed across the body. 

For the lower body, flexor tone in the foot and ankle I use an air cast brace to dampen the tone and it enables the dorsi flexors, knee/hip flexor pathways to come on board with education and also a more stable base of support on the affected leg. 

 Over many years of working with stroke patients, I have had excellent results treating and dampening tone employing some of the above methods. 

– Karen