Barts-MS rose-tinted-odometer: ★★★★★
How many of you people who have MS (pwMS) have balance problems; i.e. when you stand and close your eyes or try and stand on one leg you tend to fall?
Since my accident, I have been having problems with balance. I first noticed it when I tried to stand on one leg and I would feel unsteady. When walking to and from the bathroom at night I tend to veer to one side. I suspect my balance problems are due to vestibular problems as a result of my head injury and possibly due to my neck injuries. I say possibly due to my neck injury as the concept of cervical vertigo or cervicogenic unsteadiness is very controversial in neurology. But as there are specialised receptors in the neck that pick-up neck rotation it is possible that these have been affected by the injury and surgery.
Despite my balance problems not affecting most things I do, it makes it difficult to complete what I call routine or standard daytime tasks. For example, getting dressed in the morning; when I put on underpants or trousers I have often have to sit down. Leaning forward to pick-up things off the floor is now very difficult I as I tend to tip forwards. I can’t stand on my tiptoes to get things off a high-shelf; I now have to use a chair. These things add up and are a sign that things are not right.
I have never specifically focused on subtle balance issues in my MS clinic, which must be very common in pwMS. I would be interested to know if any of you suffer from balance problems? Have you been referred for a physical assessment? Have you has specific rehabilitation exercises to address the issue? Has the rehab helped?
It is clear that since I became aware of my balance issues and I have started doing specific exercises to address the issue, things have improved. I can now stand on either leg unsupported for over a minute when just a few weeks ago I could only manage to do this for a few seconds. Whether this will translate in better functioning remains to be seen.
There are a number of well-established rehabilitation programmes that have been shown to help with balance problems. So my advice to you is rather than suffering in silence ask for an assessment and a referral for vestibular or balance rehabilitation. If you don’t try and correct the problem it is likely to get worse. And don’t accept no for an answer. There are also a lot of online tools available to help you with self-assessments and self-rehabilitation if you are that way inclined.
Kalron et al. The effect of balance training on postural control in people with multiple sclerosis using the CAREN virtual reality system: a pilot randomized controlled trial. J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2016 Mar 1;13:13. doi: 10.1186/s12984-016-0124-y.
Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a multi-focal progressive disorder of the central nervous system often resulting in diverse clinical manifestations. Imbalance appears in most people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). A popular balance training tool is virtual reality (VR) with several advantages including increased compliance and user satisfaction. Therefore, the aim of this pilot RCT (Trial registration number, date: ISRCTN14425615, 21/01/2016) was to examine the efficacy of a 6-week VR balance training program using the computer assisted rehabilitation environment (CAREN) system (Motek Medical BV, Amsterdam, Netherlands) on balance measures in PwMS. Results were compared with those of a conventional balance exercise group. Secondary aims included the impact of this program on the fear of falling.
Methods: Thirty-two PwMS were equally randomized into the VR intervention group or the control group. Each group received balance training sessions for 6 consecutive weeks, two sessions per week, 30 min sessions. Clinical balance tests and instrumented posturography outcome measures were collected upon initiation of the intervention programs and at termination.
Results: Final analysis included 30 patients (19 females, 11 males; mean age, (S.D.) = 45.2 (11.6) years; mean EDSS (S.D.) = 4.1 (1.3), mean disease duration (S.D.) = 11.0 (8.9) years). Both groups showed a main effect of time on the center of pressure (CoP) path length with eyes open (F = 5.278, P = .024), sway rate with eyes open (F = 5.852, P = .035), Functional Reach Test (F = 20.841, P = .001), Four Square Step Test (F = 9.011, P = .031) and the Fear of Falls self-reported questionnaire (F = 17.815, P = .023). In addition, significant differences in favor of the VR program were observed for the group x time interactions of the Functional Reach Test (F = 10.173, P = .009) and fear of falling (F = 6.710, P = .021).
Conclusions: We demonstrated that balance training based on the CAREN device is an effective method of balance training for PwMS.
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CoI: multiple
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