This is just my personal experience — not medical advice. Want to contribute your story? Email me — contact info below.

What Is Muscle Tone?

Muscle tone refers to the resistance felt during passive movement.  It’s present even when the body is at rest.  After neurological injury, tone can become exaggerated or misregulated, leading to conditions like spasticity, dystonia, or rigidity.

In my case, tone became unpredictable.  Muscles would seize or stiffen. I could look strong from the outside, but inside, I was fighting against my own body’s involuntary motor signals.

How Spasticity Felt in My Body

Spasticity made my legs and arms tight, shaky, and hard to control. In cold environments, it became more severe. Even stress or certain positions would make the tone intensify.

I remember squeezing 100 pounds on a gym machine without realizing it — not because I got stronger, but because spasticity locked up my muscles. It wasn’t strength. It was uncontrolled tone.

My Medication Journey

When I first started my recovery, I was on 22 different medications.  The goal was to reduce tone, improve flexibility, and support healing.  Medications like Baclofen and Dantrolene were prescribed to calm the nervous system and relax muscles.

But I began noticing serious side effects:

• I developed tolerance and the medications stopped working
• I became constipated, fatigued, and felt disconnected
• The long-term risks — like liver damage — weren’t worth it for me

Eventually, I made a decision: I wanted to understand what life looked like without depending on pills.

Update: Today, I am only on two medications.  The rest of my healing comes from consistent, natural practices.

What Has Worked for Me

1. Stretching and Mobility
Daily stretching — like a ballerina or through adaptive chair yoga — helped reduce tightness and spasticity. Even on tough days, I remained consistent. Gentle mobility exercises over time made a noticeable difference.

2. Breathing and Mindfulness
Deep, slow breathing calmed my nervous system. I used a simple mental image: blowing out a candle. This helped manage sudden spasms and decrease overall tone.

3. Heat Therapy
Heat played a powerful role. Warm rooms, hot tubs, heated blankets, and heating pads all made my muscles more relaxed. Cold temperatures, on the other hand, would make tone worse quickly.

4. Hydration, Sleep, and Stress Management
Drinking plenty of water, prioritizing restful sleep, and managing stress levels all helped regulate my tone. I learned firsthand that lifestyle and nervous system health go hand in hand.

5. Water and Massage Therapy
Warm-water therapy — including aquatic stretching and gentle resistance — helped reduce pressure on my joints while relaxing my muscles. Massage therapy helped release deep muscle tension and made me feel more at ease in my body.

6. Equipment
Some adaptive equipment has made a huge difference in how I manage tone. In my case, AFOs (ankle-foot orthoses) have been incredibly helpful. Since most of my spasticity affects my legs, wearing AFOs has improved my alignment, reduced excessive tone, and supported more efficient movement during daily activities.

7. Botox Injections
Botox became part of my tone management plan. It helped reduce spasticity in specific muscle groups and made stretching easier. It wasn’t a cure, but it improved my quality of movement when used strategically with other therapies. I’ve written more about my experience with Botox in another article that is linked here.

Botox for Spasticity

Another option I explored was Botox injections for managing tone and spasticity.  In my experience, Botox provided targeted relief by relaxing specific overactive muscles.  It didn’t affect my whole body the way medications did, which helped minimize systemic side effects. While the effects were temporary and required ongoing injections, it gave me more control over certain movements and improved my ability to participate in therapy.  Everyone responds differently, but for me, Botox was a tool worth considering as part of a broader strategy — and I’ve written more about that in a separate article you can check out for more details.

Understanding the Role of Muscle Tone

During an interview with an occupational therapy student (embedded in this blog), I spoke about how everyone has muscle tone.  It’s natural. The difference lies in how that tone behaves after trauma.

Tone becomes a problem when it interferes with movement, balance, or function.  Mine did. But with time, awareness, and the right tools, I found ways to manage it without losing myself to side effects or frustration.

Important Disclaimer

This article is based on my personal experience. It should not replace medical advice. Everyone’s injury is different. What helped me may not help someone else — and that’s okay.

It’s important to speak with doctors, therapists, and other professionals before changing any medical routine. I chose to explore options because I was informed and supported. You should be too.

Surgery Options for Tone and Spasticity

I have received many surgeries for tone and spasticity, and while it helped it will not make specificity or tone go away.  Instead, tendon lengthening for tone and spasticity just makes it more manageable.

✅ What tendon lengthening can do:

• Reduces spastic pull on the foot (typically the Achilles tendon and/or posterior tibialis)
• Improves range of motion, allowing your foot to get flatter on the ground
• Can make it easier to wear regular shoes and stand or walk more naturally
• In many cases, it reduces or eliminates the need for rigid braces, especially if done early and followed by rehab

🚫 What tendon lengthening can’t do alone:

• It doesn’t fix the brain or spinal damage that causes spasticity — so the tone can return
• Spasticity may shift to other muscle groups over time
• If not followed by proper stretching, therapy, and maintenance, the tightness can recur
• In some people, especially with severe or ongoing tone issues, bracing may still be needed for stability or safety

🎯 When tendon lengthening has the best chance of lasting benefit:

• Spasticity is localized (not widespread through the leg)
• You’re medically stable and able to engage in physical therapy afterwards
• You have good sensation, balance, and muscle control
• You follow up with stretching, strength work, and sometimes Botox or meds

🧠 After a brain injury…

Even after tendon surgery, some people still benefit from wearing lightweight or flexible AFOs (braces) during activities like walking, especially if:

• Balance is off
• The foot muscles are weak or uncoordinated
• There’s still spasticity that affects walking

👟 Realistic outcomes:

• Many patients say walking is much easier and less painful after tendon lengthening
• Some eventually transition from rigid braces → soft orthotics → no brace at all
• Others may still need a brace for long distances, stairs, or uneven ground

Would it help you get out of braces?

If your foot is stuck or curling due to muscle tightness, and you’ve tried Botox, stretching, or bracing without much success — yes, tendon lengthening may offer big improvements. But whether you can go brace-free depends on your overall motor control, balance, and tone.

Final Thoughts on Recovery

Tone and spasticity can feel overwhelming, but they don’t have to control your life. Through movement, heat, breathing, and support, progress is possible. I’m living proof of that.

This blog is here to share honest stories, challenge assumptions, and give people hope. If you’re navigating recovery, you’re not alone. Keep exploring. Keep learning.  And above all — keep moving.

Share Your Story & Join the Movement!

Whether you’re navigating this yourself or supporting someone who is, I’d love to hear from you. Share what’s worked, ask questions, or even become a contributor to this blog. Your insights could help someone feel less alone and more empowered. Together, we’re building a supportive space for healing, growth, and real conversations.

Drop a comment, reach out, or let’s collaborate. You never know who your story might help next.

Get involved, email me at: Nolan@Coacholan.com