Physical therapy or treatments for balance and gait

@suplkr1‍,

Great question and hopefully some members respond with some recommendations or experiences in physical therapy.

However, today I was reading about a new study, which you can read about here on Neurology.org, where the researchers utilized an integrated program of balance and eye-movement exercises with multiple sclerosis patients and they found that the program improved balance, dizziness, fatigue, and quality of life in those with multiple sclerosis.

The patients performed Patients performed Balance and Eye-Movement Exercises for Persons with Multiple Sclerosis (BEEMS) training twice weekly with supervision and daily at home. This program was made up of three components: standing on difference surfaces, mobility-based walking with and without head movements, and visual stability including voluntary saccadic movements, smooth pursuits, and gaze stability.

I would encourage you to read the study or a brief summarized article of it here and discuss with your therapist or medical provider about such integrated rehabilitation program.

Awesome article! Thank you for posting @Lee__R‍ ; my gf just became recently diagnosed so I joined this website for some assistance!

@lester198‍ , thank you for joining Lester. I hope this article is beneficial for you.

At my physical therapy location, my PT definitely incorporates the basics of BEEMS, the article posted by @Lee_R. My Pt lays down mats and then has me walk from mats, to hard floor, to carpet at the same time taking either large or small steps with head movements. It definitly has helped my confidence. 

I also do different balancing exercises on the different foams and mats.

@padres44‍ how has your balance and gait... any updates?

What about you @suplkr1‍? Anything new to share?

Hi, my name is margann and I am SPMS , I just did physical therapy, I was in a program for 12 weeks. I cannot walk or do a whole lot of anything. I was in a program that had occupational therapy, physical therapy and worked on memory. I was walking with a walker and they fitted me for a brace. I went there times a week for 3 hours. They also had psychologists and social workers. I am so happy I went. They gave me skills to help make life easier.

@Margann Hello Margann, thank you for sharing your experience with us. I'm so glad to hear you found physical therapy to be beneficial! 

Hello everyone, have you seen this discussion yet? 

Have you tried physical therapy or any other treatments for balance or gait? Did you find it helpful? What was your experience like?
@AaronMc‍ @Adene66‍ @LLYDDON‍ @Teddylynnprince‍ @Lorimarie65‍ @Shequit2020BBFLY20‍ @kaisersose‍ @mirra.talley1989‍ @Ricky188q‍ @1DCROMO9‍ @Jimdifo‍ @bbramine‍ @Adonaiiamme‍ @Anitole78‍ @hbrew5519‍ 

Feel free to share here!

Take care,
Courtney