Getting Better Every Day in Every Way
After I fell and broke my distal radius (the part of the radius at the base of my thumb) my left hand was in first a splint and then a cast for six weeks and four days. When the cast came off, my orthopedist sent me to physical therapy for my hand. I was delighted, but I pointed out to him that the bigger problem was my falling: six falls in the past year. He agreed and wrote a script for p.t. so that I could walk more safely. I started on 6 October 2015 and 'graduated' on 17 December. I went twice a week every week in that period and not only improved my gait and posture, but finally got a diagnosis for why I fall.
My internist has been concerned about my falling for a while, and last year he sent me to a neurologist. She was a charming, attractive woman...I had a bit of a crush on her...and she ruled out some alarming possibilities. I do not have Parkinson's like my uncle, I had not had a series of small strokes (I worried about that, too), and I did not have a brain tumor. That last I had never considered, but I was definitely cheered up when the MRI showed no lesions. Her conclusion was that the mild neuropathy in my feet was making me stumble.
Walking up and down stairs, particularly if there is a railing, was no a problem for me, but they were there in case I needed them.
I stood between the bars when I practiced standing on one foot. In the beginning when I first started walking on my heels, I felt safer doing that, too, with the bars at either side.
On this pallet I learned a hip stretch that I will do for the rest of my life. I lie with one foot on the floor, knee bent, and the other leg, knee also bent as far to the opposite side as I can get. Five minutes in that position, then I switch sides. Now I do this on my bed which fortunately is at the perfect height for me.
Elena, my therapist, explained to me that catching myself after I stumble depends on having limber enough hips and ankles to allow myself to regain my balance. (The knees don't seem to come into it much.) I also do the runner's stretch daily to increase the flexibility in my ankles.
Another reason I was falling was because when I walked, I did not bring the front of my foot off the ground far enough at each step. This enabled me to stumble over the slightest irregularity in the ground. My ankles were too weak to allow me to lift my toes and the balls of my feet up at every step as most people do. (I have become very conscious of other people's gaits.) Hence the walking on my heels. It's not an exercise I particularly enjoy but I am still getting better at it.
Elena.
After two months of therapy, Elena re-evaluated my gait. While it was much improved, I was still turning my right foot in towards my left foot with every step. I keep telling everybody that I wore corrective shoes until I was four, but nobody ever seems interested. Guess what they were supposed to be correcting?
Elena was the first of the many health providers I have seen who gave me a diagnosis for why I fall. That means so, so much to me.
She prescribed over-the-counter corrective inserts which, when I got them, corrected about half the in-turning. Elena thinks I should get custom orthotics (about $400) which I am still thinking about. In the meantime, I haven't fallen since I broke my hand in August which is a damn good run for me.
A week or so before my last session, I asked Elena if I could see her again in a couple of months for follow up measurements to make sure I hadn't lost ground. I am already doing better than I ever have at keeping up with my exercises, but next month? By April? In a year? I need periodic refreshers. Elena thought that was the best idea in the whole world! I see her in March. FanSee
My internist has been concerned about my falling for a while, and last year he sent me to a neurologist. She was a charming, attractive woman...I had a bit of a crush on her...and she ruled out some alarming possibilities. I do not have Parkinson's like my uncle, I had not had a series of small strokes (I worried about that, too), and I did not have a brain tumor. That last I had never considered, but I was definitely cheered up when the MRI showed no lesions. Her conclusion was that the mild neuropathy in my feet was making me stumble.
Walking up and down stairs, particularly if there is a railing, was no a problem for me, but they were there in case I needed them.
I stood between the bars when I practiced standing on one foot. In the beginning when I first started walking on my heels, I felt safer doing that, too, with the bars at either side.
On this pallet I learned a hip stretch that I will do for the rest of my life. I lie with one foot on the floor, knee bent, and the other leg, knee also bent as far to the opposite side as I can get. Five minutes in that position, then I switch sides. Now I do this on my bed which fortunately is at the perfect height for me.
Elena, my therapist, explained to me that catching myself after I stumble depends on having limber enough hips and ankles to allow myself to regain my balance. (The knees don't seem to come into it much.) I also do the runner's stretch daily to increase the flexibility in my ankles.
Another reason I was falling was because when I walked, I did not bring the front of my foot off the ground far enough at each step. This enabled me to stumble over the slightest irregularity in the ground. My ankles were too weak to allow me to lift my toes and the balls of my feet up at every step as most people do. (I have become very conscious of other people's gaits.) Hence the walking on my heels. It's not an exercise I particularly enjoy but I am still getting better at it.
Elena.
After two months of therapy, Elena re-evaluated my gait. While it was much improved, I was still turning my right foot in towards my left foot with every step. I keep telling everybody that I wore corrective shoes until I was four, but nobody ever seems interested. Guess what they were supposed to be correcting?
Elena was the first of the many health providers I have seen who gave me a diagnosis for why I fall. That means so, so much to me.
She prescribed over-the-counter corrective inserts which, when I got them, corrected about half the in-turning. Elena thinks I should get custom orthotics (about $400) which I am still thinking about. In the meantime, I haven't fallen since I broke my hand in August which is a damn good run for me.
A week or so before my last session, I asked Elena if I could see her again in a couple of months for follow up measurements to make sure I hadn't lost ground. I am already doing better than I ever have at keeping up with my exercises, but next month? By April? In a year? I need periodic refreshers. Elena thought that was the best idea in the whole world! I see her in March. FanSee