Melbourne NeuroCare provides specialist assessment and treatment for spasticity caused by stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and other neurological conditions.
Spasticity occurs when muscles become stiff, tight or overactive because of changes in the brain, spinal cord or nervous system. It can affect the arms, hands, legs, feet, hips, shoulders or multiple areas of the body.
For some people, spasticity causes mild tightness or occasional spasms. For others, it can interfere with walking, hand function, dressing, hygiene, sleep, comfort, transfers, footwear and day-to-day independence. If left untreated, spasticity may contribute to pain, contractures, pressure areas, posture problems and difficulty with care.
At Melbourne NeuroCare, our Spasticity Clinic provides specialist neurological assessment and personalised treatment for patients with focal or complex spasticity. Treatment may include toxin injection treatment, medication review, therapy coordination and long-term rehabilitation planning.
Goal-based care designed to improve comfort, positioning, mobility, function and ease of daily care.
Spasticity is a neurological condition where affected muscles become unusually stiff, tight or resistant to movement. It often occurs after injury or disease affecting the brain, spinal cord or nervous system.
Spasticity can cause muscles to contract involuntarily, making certain movements difficult or uncomfortable. It may affect one limb, one side of the body, both legs, or several muscle groups at the same time.
The impact of spasticity varies from person to person. Some patients mainly need help with pain or comfort. Others may need treatment to support walking, hand opening, hygiene, dressing, sleep, transfers or therapy goals.
The Melbourne NeuroCare Spasticity Clinic assesses and treats spasticity related to:
Spasticity can affect different areas of the body in different ways. Common patterns include:
A specialist spasticity assessment may be helpful if muscle stiffness, tightness or spasms are affecting:
Patients may also benefit from review if spasticity is worsening, causing pain, limiting movement, interfering with rehabilitation or making care more difficult for family members, carers or support workers.
We assess the cause, severity and pattern of spasticity, including which muscles are involved and how the condition is affecting daily life.
The assessment may consider pain, posture, walking, hand function, hygiene, dressing, sleep, transfers, therapy goals and long-term risks such as contractures or pressure areas.
Spasticity treatment should be guided by clear, practical goals. These goals may include improving comfort, reducing pain, opening the hand, improving limb positioning, supporting walking, easing dressing, improving hygiene or reducing painful spasms.
Not every patient has the same goals. For some patients, the focus is active function. For others, the focus may be comfort, care, positioning or preventing complications.
Toxin injection treatment may be considered when spasticity is focused in specific overactive muscles. The treatment is designed to help relax selected muscles and reduce unwanted tightness or spasms.
This may be suitable for patterns such as a clenched hand, flexed wrist, bent elbow, tight shoulder, stiff calf, curled toes or turned-in foot.
The aim is not simply to reduce tightness. Treatment is planned around the patient’s individual goals, such as improving comfort, supporting therapy, easing care or improving movement where possible.
Spasticity treatment often works best when combined with physiotherapy, occupational therapy, stretching, splinting, strengthening, gait retraining, orthotics or rehabilitation.
Melbourne NeuroCare can help coordinate treatment goals with the patient’s therapy team so that clinic-based treatment supports broader rehabilitation and day-to-day care.
Some patients may benefit from oral anti-spasticity medication, pain management, equipment advice, orthotics, rehabilitation physician input or multidisciplinary care.
Where required, we can help guide broader management and recommend referral to other specialists or allied health providers.
Spasticity can change over time. Some patients improve with rehabilitation, while others develop new patterns of tightness, pain or functional difficulty.
Ongoing review allows treatment goals, muscle selection, dosing and therapy plans to be adjusted over time. This is especially important for patients with complex neurological conditions or changing care needs.
Melbourne NeuroCare provides specialist neurological assessment and treatment for patients with spasticity and complex neurological conditions.
Our focus is practical and patient-centred: improving comfort, supporting function, reducing pain, improving positioning and making day-to-day care easier.
Patients choose Melbourne NeuroCare for:
Spasticity treatment may help to:
Patients may benefit from a spasticity clinic if muscle stiffness, tightness or spasms are affecting comfort, walking, hand opening, hygiene, dressing, sleep, therapy goals or day-to-day care.
A clinic review may also be helpful if spasticity is causing pain, limiting rehabilitation progress or making care more difficult.
No. Toxin injection treatment may be useful for selected patients, but spasticity management is usually broader than injections alone.
Treatment may also include physiotherapy, occupational therapy, stretching, splinting, orthotics, medication review, pain management and rehabilitation planning.
Yes. Spasticity can change over time and may worsen if muscles and joints become tight, painful or difficult to move.
Early assessment and management may help reduce pain, improve comfort and lower the risk of complications such as contractures, pressure areas or care difficulties.
Spasticity may affect the arms, hands, legs, feet, hips, shoulders or trunk. Common treatment areas include a clenched hand, bent elbow, tight shoulder, stiff calf, curled toes or turned-in foot.
The treatment plan depends on which muscles are involved and what goals are most important for the patient.
Treatment may help support walking or hand use in some patients, particularly when spasticity is limiting movement or interfering with therapy.
However, outcomes vary depending on the underlying neurological condition, the severity of spasticity, muscle weakness, joint stiffness and rehabilitation goals. The specialist will discuss realistic goals during assessment.
A referral may be required depending on your circumstances, funding pathway or specialist appointment type. Please contact Melbourne NeuroCare for guidance before booking.
Book an appointment with the Melbourne NeuroCare Spasticity Clinic if muscle stiffness, spasms or neurological tightness are affecting comfort, mobility, function or daily care.
📞 Call 1300 080 784 or Book Online to arrange your Spasticity Clinic appointment at Melbourne Neurocare.
