Unsteadiness when walking or turning. Needing support from walls, furniture or other people. A heavy feeling in the legs when stepping forward. Leg weakness when weight bearing.
In fact, two-thirds of people with MS are still able to walk. But you may need a cane, crutches, or walker to help you maintain balance when moving or provide rest when you're tired. At some point, the symptoms of MS may lead you and your team of healthcare providers to consider a wheelchair or other assistance device.
A person's walking ability can be affected by other MS symptoms, including muscle tightness, numbness in the feet, loss of balance and coordination, foot drop, vision impairments, fatigue, or weakness. A steady gait is not only important for getting from point A to point B—it can also be important for safety.
Characteristics of the MS gait pattern
You may walk more slowly, with shorter steps. You may lack in confidence when you walk – leading to hesitation and stumbling. You might feel unsteady when turning or walking. You might find placing your foot on the ground difficult.
The study in brief
Previous research has shown that physiotherapy or exercise based rehabilitation for people with MS, can improve walking ability.
“Strength training is shown to be beneficial for people living with MS because it helps you perform daily activities,” says Reilly. Working major muscle groups in your lower body (quads, hamstrings, glutes) can help improve or maintain strength with walking, standing, balance, and muscular endurance.
The most common symptoms of MS include fatigue, numbness and tingling, blurred vision, double vision, weakness, poor coordination, imbalance, pain, depression and problems with memory and concentration. Less commonly MS may cause tremor, paralysis and blindness.
Those symptoms include loss of vision in an eye, loss of power in an arm or leg or a rising sense of numbness in the legs. Other common symptoms associated with MS include spasms, fatigue, depression, incontinence issues, sexual dysfunction, and walking difficulties.
Gait abnormalities after a disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) are quite different, although it has been observed that some of the most common findings are a decrease in step length and single support time, slower speed, increase in step width, and decrease in ankle dorsiflexion angle and propulsive force [13, ...
ms frequently causes fatigue, which can limit walking endurance. ms damage to nerve pathways may hamper coordination and/or cause weakness, poor balance, numbness, or spasticity (abnormal increase in muscle tone). Visual or cognitive problems can also interfere with walking.
If your MS is limiting your ability to get around and do the things you like to do, a mobility device can assist you in staying active. A cane is the least complicated type of mobility device, providing you with just a touch of balance and support to help you get around.
6 While exercise can't reverse the nerve damage, it will keep the body strong and reduce the chances of developing secondary health conditions which complicate MS symptoms.
Foot drop, or dropped foot, is a symptom of multiple sclerosis caused by weakness in the ankle or disruption in the nerve pathway between the legs and the brain. This disruption means it is difficult to lift the front of the foot to the correct angle during walking.
The weakness often occurs only on one side of your body or just in your legs or trunk. Weakness, like other MS symptoms, may come and go as you experience flare-ups and remissions during the course of the disease.
Numbness or Tingling
A lack of feeling or a pins-and-needles sensation can be the first sign of the nerve damage from MS. It usually happens in the face, arms, or legs, and on one side of the body.
People should consider the diagnosis of MS if they have one or more of these symptoms: vision loss in one or both eyes. acute paralysis in the legs or along one side of the body. acute numbness and tingling in a limb.
Muscle spasms: They usually affect your leg muscles. They're an early symptom for almost half the people with MS. They also affect people with progressive MS. You might feel mild stiffness or strong, painful spasms.
While there is no definitive blood test for MS, blood tests can rule out other conditions that cause symptoms similar to those of MS, including lupus erythematosis, Sjogren's, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, some infections, and rare hereditary diseases.
About 15% of patients will never necessitate assistance with ambulation, while 5-10% will do so within 5 years, and another 10% will do so in 15 years. Average patient will take about 28 years from the point of diagnosis to necessitate assistance while walking, and will be about 60 years of age.
The study found that people with MS lived to be 75.9 years old, on average, compared to 83.4 years old for those without. That 7.5-year difference is similar to what other researchers have found recently.
MS itself is rarely fatal, but complications may arise from severe MS, such as chest or bladder infections, or swallowing difficulties. The average life expectancy for people with MS is around 5 to 10 years lower than average, and this gap appears to be getting smaller all the time.