Foot Drop and Floor Coverings
Bioness L100 G0 Update: I received my device two weeks ago and am still “playing” with the adjustments. For some reason, I believed I would strap on this handy dandy little cuff and sprint out of the gates.
Well, maybe not sprint; but after a few trials, my walking gait would smoothly take me from Point A to Point B with little to no difficulty.
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
One would think that I was smarter than that, wouldn’t one?
The reality is: Nothing in life is simple.
The reality is: Challenges make us stronger.
The reality is: MS is hard.
The Bioness stimulator is like wearing a TENS unit and if the electrodes are not positioned appropriately, game over until said electrodes are placed where they need to be. How do you know when they are where they need to be? Trial and error. Position, remove, position again, remove, cry a little, reposition, repeat.
My biggest problem with his miraculous device (because it is when it works) is that my right foot seems to rise to the side rather than in the forward position I desire.
I really believed I would be more motivated to work with this cherished device, but I find myself sneering at it as it recharges. I’m pretty sure it’s sneering right back at me.
But the challenge is real and if nothing else I owe it to all my supporters (and myself)to give this experience my all.
There is a hidden challenge in play here. I learned a long time ago that walking surfaces play a major role in walking gait with Drop Foot. For instance, rubber-soled shoes on carpet can be disastrous because of the “grab” effect. Gravel is a horrible walking surface. Walking in the grass is similar to carpet and worse if the ground is uneven. Throw rugs present an unpleasant challenge at times. Okay, I learned all this prior to acquiring my Bioness. Guess what? I get to retrain my brain to accommodate the addition of electrical stimulation. This might not sound like a big deal, but it is. Also, I am learning which physical therapy exercises are more important now. Just because my foot is being controlled by electric stimulation doesn’t mean my knee and thigh muscles are cooperating as they should.
I haven’t been to PT in a while but will return after I figure out what we need to do about this. This is truly a learning experience; not only for me but for my orthotic specialist as well as for the physical therapist. None of us really know what we are doing, but isn’t that a typical mantra of multiple sclerosis? We Warriors are all different. No one’s MS is the same. We learn from one another.
With that said, I would love to hear from other Bioness users. Give me the scoop.
Until now, Bioness products were not available in my home state of West Virginia. The nearest distributors are in Ohio or Pennsylvania, too far away for a casual visit or weekly check-in. Now Pete Murto, owner of Morgantown Orthotics and Prosthesis, with offices in both Morgantown and Clarksburg, is working with Bioness as an affiliate. West Virginia is now on the Bioness map. That’s very cool and another reason why I need to make this work.
So, as I unload my thoughts here on Medium and my Bioness charges in the other room, I find myself reflecting on the progress MS treatments have made. I was diagnosed twenty years ago when modifying drugs were few. MS treatments had already just been recognized after centuries of medieval diagnoses. Just an hour south of me in 1950, patients exhibiting signs of multiple sclerosis were treated as mentally unstable and assigned to a life of barbaric procedures designed to exorcise the demonic characteristics of sorcery. Electric shock treatment and lobotomies were not unheard of. Crazy, I know.
Now I am attaching electrodes to my skin in order to alert my muscles to move.
If only I could alert my muscles to play nice with walking surfaces, life would be good. But, hey, at least we’re using electricity as a positive influence in the treatment of the MonSter.
I’m just happy to participate in any life-altering practice to rid the world of MS.
Stay strong, Warriors. Life is a game but we can choose how to play.
Lisa, Lady With the Cane
