Walking

[teena marie]

Hi all,

Veronica,such fantastic news. Arm swinging is key, in my opinion. I practise a few exaggerated steps in the pool,really thinking about a big X connecting shoulders and hips,right and left. My left hip and shoulder don't swing with ease. I think there's some spasticity there. I love the term collapse point walk.I've experienced it of late walking out of work in my severely overheated building!

For me, walking is all about the pelvis being able to move smoothly. Incidentally,I've introduced Kegel exercises to improve some bladder control. It's helping access some deep core muscles that attach to the pelvis. This in turn helps with lifting the legs.

It's also about keeping the core cool. Yesterday, I brought my ice vest to work and put it on 30 minutes before leaving. What a huge help and what a difference.

Take care all,

Teena Marie

[Veronica]

Hi all:
HUGE milestone for me on Monday. Got back on the treadmill to do the Collapse Point Walk and walked nonstop for 35 minutes covering 1.052 miles.....Be it on a treadmill or on the ground I have not walked non stop for 35 minutes in years.....and I really cannot remember the last time I walked a nonstop mile. I am using a treadmill that has the cross training feature so I can pump my arms as I go and I think this is very important to help me get the natural swing of the arms back. I have alot of work to do on my form when walking "in the real world" but I am so happy for having broken the 1 mile marker.... Herb had set a target of 1.6 miles for the collapse point walk for me in six months from when we started this, so I think I am well on target. Six months would be February....

[Veronica]

I agree with Teena Marie, Larry, that the difference is that biking isn't the weight bearing that walking is.

Focusing on how people without physical issues walk has become a slight obsession with me...particularly the arm swing, as I have learned that mine had become either very artificial or bordered on none existent. I have it back again, but not naturally....yet.....! Gonna try the visualizations.....guess it is like muscle memory on another level.

This past Sunday I was going to do my weekly Collapse Point Walk on the treadmill, didn't feel like endurance was my friend that day, but started it anyway. Got only to 11 minutes before I really needed to stop. I didn't want to log that in as the weekly CPW, so I just decided to rest a few minutes and do it again.....lasted 9 minutes the second time, did another quick 4 min rest and then was able to walk on for total of 32 mins.... was on 1.9 the entire time, which is my fastest consistent speed yet, and I really worked the last two minutes as I was closing in on one mile... This was a milestone for me...even if it wasn't a continuous CPW, it still was a mile on the mill. I really just did a variation of my PT's interval training, and am checking with him to make sure there is no reason why I can't do it this way from now on.... Just linking CPWs together until I run out of time or abililty. Tomorrow will be my next time on the mill and if all conditions are GO, I will try the pure collapse point walk and see if I can beat my last time of 28 minutes. This is getting to be like a game for me! Gonna talk to Herb about when can I add some incline to the treadmill training as I know that this is such an artificial walk right now. It is definitely translating into a better and more comfortable walk for me, but the quality of my walk outside is nowhere near as good as it is on the mill due to all the natural factors there.

[teena marie]

Larry, I hear you 100%. All I can think of is that walking is weight bearing.

Veronica, a 5k walk sounds like an amazing goal and you of all people can achieve this.

Arm swinging is an important part of the pendulum action of walking, the left right action. When I'm doing my walking visualization I actually swing my arms and move my hips and shoulders. I'm planning to work on this action in the pool.

Take care all,

Teena Marie

[AMFADVENTURES]

Got a chance to test out my walking the other day at a large venue bike swap fair. Using a cane, there is no doubt I can and am walking better. Even the leg lift is better WHEN I REALLY CONCENTRATE on it. I am also walking slightly faster and it all lasted for a little over an hour. I still hit the "wall" at about the one hour mark but I walked better for more of that hour than I have in the past. The only change I've made in my normal routine lately has been climbing up and down a flight of stairs every day.

One thing has me baffled though, I can hit a wall cycling, recover in anywhere from 30 seconds to 20 minutes and keep on going. With walking however, once I hit the wall, there isn't much recovery until the next day. Beats me what's going on there????????

[AMFADVENTURES]

Glad to hear that a PT actually can teach an MSer to walk again, quite encouraging actually, thanks for that.

I've been doing stairs regularly for a couple of months now and I think I can say two things about it:
1) I certainly am more confident on stairs, both up and down and although I prefer to have a hand rail, I'm also more confident even in the absence of one.

2) Doing the stairs has changed my gait, whether for better or worse I'm not sure. For some reason the knee lifting required for stair climbing doesn't seem to have transferred to walking but I feel like the leg strength gained from the stairs has.

Like Bobbo I can always do more and do it easier and better when I'm fresh but unlike TM and Bobbo, I don't fare that well in the middle of the night. It seems to take a while to get my muscles working very well.

[Veronica]

I like this thread! So today I saw my PT...been seeing him now once a month since I have really committed to getting this walking to a more comfortable and better level. My last collapse point walk just gave me an additional 2 minutes, and added just about 1/10 of a mile, but as Herb said, I am now walking non-stop for 25 minutes and when we started this, I was so uncomfortable walking more than a city block or two.... So, progress!! He made my eyes cross when he suggested I think about the 5K Walk MS event in the spring, and he said he would do it with me. It is very unbelievable to me that I could walk 5K at this point, but he has turned me into a believer with the biking, so what the heck. It's a goal..... At this point, he wants me to do a collapse point walk once a WEEK, and an internal walk routine once a week....My interval walk is now at 9 mins walking, rest, 7 mins walk, rest, 6 mins walk,rest, 6 mins walk, rest, 6 mins walk. Rests are still 4 minutes each. We also talked about and worked on my length of strides. He had me take much smaller steps, move faster, and swing my arms. At first I was pumping them, and bending the elbow. He corrected me and had me just swing them from the shoulder in a more loose, fluid manner. When I did the walk that way, his eyes lite up and said "YES! That looks so normal!!" I told him I felt like a robot, and he chuckled saying that others have said the same thing, when in fact, THAT is the way one walks when there is no compromising issues.... All this is just fascinating to me....and so encouraging..... Will I do Walk MS? Oh I don't know, but just to have hope for enjoying walking again is such a gift to me... I'll keep you in the loop!!

[teena marie]

Hello,

I have noticed if I have to get back up after going to bed that I also move with more ease. Although I'd have to say housecleaning at that hour is not so appealing! I totally agree about core strength helping us with being straight and upright. Do keep us posted about your visualization experiences.

I continue with my routine although not as regularly. It helps centre me and there have been times I feel it has had a positive impact on my gait. I definitely have more stamina and my timed walk is faster.

How is the treadmill routine, Veronica?

[bobbo]

Hi Teena Maria,

Great thread! I used to visualize my golf swing back when I still played. It didn't work miracles but It helped keep my drives closer to the fairway

I never thought of using that same visualizing technique to improve my walking or any other daily challenges that I face with MS....until I read this thread. I was amazed with the results! With visualizing I definitely get more of a lift when I'm tackling stairs. I also tried Larry's suggestions and concentrated on lifting the knee when walking . That definitely helped as well! Or even after doing some floor exercises, if I have trouble getting back on my feet. If I visualize the movement required I get an extra boost.*

As far as my condition I also have a weak left leg, in fact my whole left side is weak. And I use a WalkAide as my foot drop became too severe. I also use walking sticks at home and a rollator when I go out. I agree that crawling and climbing stairs helps with walking. I've also been trying to keep my back straight or stand upright as staying bent over decreases my core muscle involvement...which has over time *weakened my overall core strength. When walking laps at the gym I mix in short spurts of power or speed walking.While it's anything but graceful to an observer I find that after the short spurt my normal walking gait improves.

The one other thing I think is worth mentioning is my "second wind" after midnight. It doesn't happen all the time, and I can't find a pattern or make any sense as to what triggers it. But if I find myself awake at that time on occasion I get this incredible boost of energy. Its like I drop a point on the EDSS scale. I can actually take a few steps with no aids. I'm moving quicker, I can do full knee lifts. The neighbours probably think I'm crazy because all of a sudden I'm doing housework after midnight. Does anyone else experience this?*

[Veronica]

Teena Marie, all I can say is you are really workin' it . Very impressive to me....

And don't you love it when you can "wake up" a muscle and reactivate it, even if it is ever so slight to begin with? Yeay for us!

[teena marie]

Hi,

I also use a breathing technique always to the count of 5. Breathing in to 5-abdomen inflated like a balloon, hold it for 5, exhaling for 5 thinking of bringing the abdomen to touch the spine. Especially this last action is accessing some deep core muscles I've previously been unable to activate. This in turn is helping my walking, especially on the left. I'm encouraged.

Take care,

Teena Marie

[teena marie]

Hi all,

Tonight with my visualization, I really felt the disconnect with the left/right, hip/shoulder circuit. So I slowed things down and really concentrated on the action. What was interesting was the tingling feeling I got in my hips which fits with the notion that thinking through a motion is capable of stimulating pathways. I'm also quite tired which makes me feel it was work. I'll report back on how and when this translates to gait changes.

Take care all,

Teena Marie

[AMFADVENTURES]

You've made a believer out of me TM. Concentrating on form does seem to help considerably.

Larry

[teena marie]

Hi all,

Veronica, what a detailed description of your workout. It has really inspired me to get a treadmill. I'm so happy you feel it's helping. I think what's good is the attention to form. It fits with my belief in re-training-good form is more important in the long term than speed.

Yesterday, I was visiting a friend in a hospital. It felt so good to walk on a flat surface after a summer of lumpy terrain. I was able to pay attention to all the muscles in my foot and it really seemed to help. The other thing I do is a daily visualization exercise where I "walk" normally across a room. I do 50 paces and really concentrate on the left/right arm swinging and leg extensions. I'm planning to make this part of my morning routine before heading out the door to work.

Take care all,

Teena Marie

[Veronica]

Hi all: Teena Marie, you asked how the treadmill routine is going....I am so happy with this...I see progress on the treadmill ( and I believe very subtle changes for the positive in real life walking...) Just to review what this is:


Three times a week:
I do 7 minutes of walking at whatever pace works for me so that I can keep perfect/very good form and control/stop the foot dragging or scuffing or the knee slamming back. Then I take a 4 minute rest where I lay on the bed and really give my calves and hamstrings a good stretch. This is followed by three more sets of 6 minutes on/ 4 off. And at the end of each walking set I increase the speed to as fast as I can safely walk for all of a few seconds just to remind my legs how to move that fast...good ol' muscle memory)

On alternate days: I am to just walk on the treamill without using anything to hold on to for all of 1 minute.

Once a month: The collapse point walk: I am using the cross training feature now of my mill ( like trekking poles) so I can really get a more natural stride rather than holding on the fixed side of the mill. Here I am to just walk at whatever pace is most comfortable, and keep walking until I cannot control the bad form, and record the time and distance.

Two days ago when I did the collapse point walk, I walked 23 minutes ( last month I only lasted 17 minutes) I went at a slightly slower pace than last month, as I am more and more aware of my left ( good) leg/foot twisting and grabbing at the ground to counter any off balancing. At a slower pace this did not happen. My distance did not go up much ( from .600 to .66) but it increased, and that is all that matters to me.
My PT and I have a goal of me being able to do 1.6 miles on the mill in six months.God knows if that will work out, but I am excited about this goal. Also is so nice to have a cardio exercise that I can just do at home when I have a little time, or just feel like moving. I even ENJOYED the collapse point walk the other day. Shocking, again!
Thanks for starting this thread Teena Marie. All the talk about the stairs reminds me to work abit more on this.....