Category Archives: Gait/walking Problems

Unsteady Gait: Time for a Cane?

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“Thoughts and Choices”


April 9, 2014

Many people with MS will begin to experience walking problems due to emerging symptoms like balance, coordination, fatigue and weakness. The typical first type of walking aid is a cane.

The thought of using a cane can be difficult. Some believe they are “giving in” to MS. Others think it makes them feel or look old. Or, that a cane makes one “stick out” and draws attention to them.

People who think this way need a positive perspective, from somebody who has “been in their shoes.” Using a cane:

• Is accepting MS and its gait problems, not giving into it.
• Helps keep you walking, reducing fatigue and improving posture.
• Is a safety net against falls and injuries.
• Draws no more attention to you than a wobbly gait or drunk-like walk.
• Transfers an “invisible” symptom into “visible” one. (A BIG benefit for MSers!)
• Can actually give you a classy, distinguished look!

We use eyeglasses to help us see, so why not use canes to help us walk? When I began using a cane at the age of thirty, I learned all of these things. At that time 28 years ago, I was able to find four different kinds of canes to match my outfits and walk with style.

Now there is a terrific website called Walking Canes http://www.walking-canes.net/multiplesclerosisandgait.html . There are oodles of styles, colors, types and accessories to choose from. This site also has an MS Guide, researched and written by Dr. Elizabeth Lewis, a well-respected and experienced physician.

So check it out, and also check out a previous post I wrote entitled “MS and Walking Problems” http://debbiepetrina.authorsxpress.com/?p=122 .

A final note: If this is your first cane purchase, it is important you talk with a physical therapist or qualified health professional to show you how to properly walk with a cane and how it should be adjusted to fit your physique.

Debbie Petrina
Author/Counselor/Living with MS
www.DebbieMS.com

Using Mobility Scooters and Other Assistive Devices

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“Move Forward–not Backward or Not at All!”

One of the National MS Society’s famous phrases is “MS stops people from moving”. Not me! MS may have stopped my legs from moving but it didn’t stop me from moving. And it shouldn’t stop you either.

I never hesitated to use any assistive device and actually sought them out on my own. This is what I say:

Goodbye fatigue and mobility problems. Hello freedom and happiness!

Recently I mentioned to a person with MS that I was getting ready to go do some leisurely shopping at the Mall. She said, “I am so envious that you can go shopping in this heat.” I told her it was time to think about using a scooter. Buy one, rent one, or borrow one.

Through the years, assistive devices have allowed me to be less fatigued, elevating my moods and enabling me to do more. I didn’t overheat as fast since I struggled less in trying to walk. Since I was walking better using the devises, I experienced less muscle and bone stress on my body parts.

Twenty-five years ago when my son was only four years old, I got my first scooter (insurance covered 80% of it). I was still able to walk, but only for short distances. Wanting to keep active, live life and enjoy my son, the scooter enabled me to go to zoos, amusement parks, Disneyworld, shopping malls, etc.

Goodbye danger. Hello safety.

Weakness, poor balance, fatigue, incoordination, foot drop, spasticity…. These symptoms increase your probability of falling and suffering an injury—risking a flare-up and residual damage. Not to mention the pain and inconvenience while you heal if you fall.

Goodbye pride. Hello common sense.

Most people at some in their lives have to use corrective lenses for their vision problems. They don’t think twice about getting them. Eyeglasses are so fashionable these days, and people love the styles and colors available. Others prefer contact lenses instead of glasses for personal reasons; plus, it gives them the ability to have several pair of designer sunglasses to wear.

So what’s the difference if you need to use a device for mobility? In the days when I started using a cane, I had four of them in different colors and styles to match my outfits.

In addition, in today’s world, the stigma of using wheelchairs is going away. The attitude and awareness about using medical devices has changed since the eighties when I first had to use them. People of all ages are often seen in movies and advertising brochures using a wheelchair. You see more people out and about using them. Grocery and retail stores like Target or WalMart have scooters available now for their customers to use. Many places like amusement parks rent wheelchairs and scooters.

Besides, who cares what people think? I do what is best for me. Sometimes I just look at the way people dress, look, and act today….and I should worry about how they look at me?!

And added bonus? People—family and strangers alike—treated me differently when I started using a mobility devise. I looked disabled and received many more offers for help!

A word of caution, however. When you find how relieving it is to use a scooter or wheelchair, never stop your exercise regime. The old saying that “if you don’t use it, you will lose it” has truth to it. I’m a full-time power chair/scooter user, but I still do my daily stretching, balance and strengthening exercises. I use a pool regularly to practice standing and walking—things that I can’t do on land.

So technically, the Society’s phrase is correct in the sense that MS does stop people from moving in the physical sense. But MS shouldn’t stop people from moving forward in life. If you look hard enough, there is a solution to almost everything.

P.S. See my video “Mobility Scooters: Tips on How to Buy” http://youtu.be/TfLtgb2ybb8

www.DebbieMS.com

MS and Walking Problems

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“Falling Down”

May 7, 2012

Most people with MS will fall down.  As careful as you try to be, it happens when
you least expect it.

I fell down two weeks ago and I am still recovering.  As I was getting up from my recliner, my knees suddenly buckled and I landed right on my tailbone.  It was probably a good thing that my back hit the end table as I fell.  I think it helped break the fall of dead weight hitting the floor and possibly preventing a broken bone.

Who knows?  I may have a slight fracture because my butt still hurts when I sit, but it is slowly getting better.  I held off from going to the doctor because the thought of X-rays and who knows what else a hospital would do was not something I wanted to deal with.  I didn’t want the added stress of all that added to the stress of the fall, plus all the germs I would be exposed to at the hospital.

I didn’t know if that was a smart decision at the time, but after the fact, in my own mind it was. The truth is, if I had been in severe pain or exceptionally immobile in a new way, I would have gone for a medical evaluation immediately or a day or two later.

There are so many symptoms of MS that make walking precarious, and it is probable that almost all people with MS have at least one of them.  Fatigue.  Dragging feet.  Weakness. Ataxia.  Toe or foot drop.  Poor coordination and balance.  Spasticity.
Vertigo. Medications, lack of sleep, and age also affect walking safely.

We need those handrails on steps.  We love hanging onto those shopping buggies
in stores.  Thank goodness for all those walls and furniture to hold onto.

With my own case of MS, I had walking problems from the onset.  I was very young and the walls and buggies sufficed for a few years.  Then things started getting worse. I bought a collapsible cane and carried it in my briefcase everyday, but never used
it.  Until one day when I was crossing a cobblestone street and I wiped out.

That’s the day I took out the cane—I was thirty-years old and started using it for my poor balance. I was too startled and scared to be embarrassed.  After that day, I never hesitated to use that or any other assistive device.  It didn’t take much to fall down:  a crack in a sidewalk, a toe getting caught in a throw rug, or a shoe heel that was too
high.

I thought of my cane as a pair of glasses that one uses to see better.  So I bought four canes in various colors and styles to match my outfits. Later, the walker-on-wheels with the built-in seat to rest on was a blessing when the weakness and fatigue would cause my legs to crumple after walking a short distance.  The added benefit of the basket to carry my things for me was so convenient.

We MSers need to think about tripping and falling constantly—something “normal” people take for granted.

Falling down is dangerous to us for several reasons.  Obviously, serious injuries can result.  Serious injuries not only impair daily living, they cause enormous stress and often cause a relapse.  Relapses lead to intensifying existing MS and creating new ones from residual damage. Injuries take longer for people with MS to heal because of the autoimmune response of our nervous system.

Steroids (such as Solu-medrol) are frequently prescribed to reduce inflammation and shorten the life of a relapse.  Most people on steroids suffer side effects and over time these cause loss of bone density.

Therefore, the older you are, the more dangerous it is to fall down. Not only are older people prone to fractures because of bone loss from things like menopause and osteoporosis, but those who lived a long life with MS probably used steroids frequently throughout the years to shorten their relapses.  Being fifty-seven years old, I was lucky I didn’t break a bone when I fell.

There is a whole arsenal of tools available to help prevent falling down–physical therapy, walking devices, strengthening/balance exercises, arranging daily habits to enable frequent resting…too many to talk about in this article. I’ve explored and use(d) so many of them and am always looking for new things out there to try.

Where to start?  Go to a physical therapist who has worked with MS patients and talk to other MSers. It is essential to learn how to do and use things correctly.

These things take time, dedication and will power to adjust to lifestyle changes.  They create more interference in our daily life and add more to do and worry about.  But the chance of suffering a serious injury doesn’t fit in with working full-time, being a spouse/parent, running a household or enjoying life either (sigh).

We with MS have to take every precaution we can from falling down.  Our lives (and our butts!) depend on it.

www.DebbieMS.com