Angelika_23 Posted June 7, 2010 Report Share Posted June 7, 2010 Hello,I have a walker for those ever increasing "bad days". My balance is very fragile and I've had a lot of bad falls lately. I fell again on Saturday. Today at physical therapy (for the knee I injured in the fall in March) the physical therapist told me I am too young for a walker and should only need a cane for balance. Does this sound right to you? I am like a pinball at times, bouncing off one wall after another. I don't feel like a cane would help stabilize me. Now I feel self-conscious about using the walker again.I really really wish I could figure out what is causing all the falling. I am tired of it and am waiting for a break or fracture to happen. I'm lucky it hasn't happened yet.Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen Posted June 7, 2010 Report Share Posted June 7, 2010 [quote name='Angelika_23' date='Jun 7 2010, 12:08 PM' post='140947AngelaI use a forearm crutch instead of a cane. I feel this gives more stability, the cuff at the top allows you to open your hand without losing the mobility aid. When things are really bad or if I have to walk a long way carrying something (e.g. medical facilities) I am apt to use my seated walker because you never know how you will feel as you make your way back. I fight to use the cane as much as possible as part of exercising and find it does help. I am not sure whether a regular cane would give me enough of a feeling of security . I use the Walk Easy crutches and find that they are easiest for shock recoil.noreen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tearose Posted June 7, 2010 Report Share Posted June 7, 2010 I use a seat cane.My balance is not as bad as yours though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaos Posted June 7, 2010 Report Share Posted June 7, 2010 Walkers are much better for stability than a cane or even crutches. If you're falling this much, I think the walker is the better option. The decision about using a walker or cane should be decided by your symptoms and needs... not by your age. Even young kids are on walkers if they need them to be safe. Is your therapist doing any balance activities with you or working on proprioception type activities to help improve your balance and help you wean away from the walker SAFELY? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzysillyak Posted June 7, 2010 Report Share Posted June 7, 2010 Hello,I have a walker for those ever increasing "bad days". My balance is very fragile and I've had a lot of bad falls lately. I fell again on Saturday. Today at physical therapy (for the knee I injured in the fall in March) the physical therapist told me I am too young for a walker and should only need a cane for balance. Does this sound right to you? I am like a pinball at times, bouncing off one wall after another. I don't feel like a cane would help stabilize me. Now I feel self-conscious about using the walker again.I really really wish I could figure out what is causing all the falling. I am tired of it and am waiting for a break or fracture to happen. I'm lucky it hasn't happened yet.AngelaAngela,Your physical therapist is wrong ... anyone, despite their age, may need assistance walking or standing. I used a motorized cart from the age of 34 till 51 because my legs would get wobbly and feel like they were going out on me. I was bouncing / bumping into things all the time too. Have you been tested for ataxia ? The only test I know is the Rhomberg but there may be others. Ataxia is a diagnosis that describes balance issues. To make a long story short, my ataxia appears to have been caused by gluten intolerance. .. This is called gluten ataxia if you want to google it. Since I gave up several toxins when I gave up gluten I'm not completely convinced that it was just gluten involved here. I am a celiac with the DQ2 gene though and we're known for having nuero problems from gluten ... Two other symptoms are known to accompany gluten ataxia too though. Heavy arms and visual disturbances ... Just in case you have those too .. my vision was so bad when I was walking that it appeared that things were bouncing when I tried to focus on anything. And I couldn't even wash my hair without giving my arms a break ... HTH ... Marcia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelika_23 Posted June 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2010 Chaos,The therapy is for a knee injury, not for my balance. My bad balance is not caused by the knee injury, the terrible balance actually contributed to the knee injury. My balance issues occur when I am in the midst of a POTS exacerbation.Dr. Grubb's office prescribed the walker for my "bad spells" and there is no plan to wean me off of it. I don't use it all the time, just when things are bad. The therapist was just giving me her opinion on what she thinks is appropriate for me. I don't think she understands how bad my balance is. Or what POTS is.Dizzysillyak,I did horribly on the Romberg (sp?). My balance isn't always bad, so I don't think my diet is a factor because I am so sensitive to changes, I rarely eat differently. I usually get like this around my period, any illness or being too tired. Right now I have a cold and I'm very tired. Thanks everyoneAngela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzysillyak Posted June 7, 2010 Report Share Posted June 7, 2010 sorry to hear you're positive for Rhomberg. I had no idea what that test was or what it meant until my legs stopped acting up on me and I started trying to figure out why ... Thank you google ... Have you been tested for gluten antibodies ? That's the best way to know if you have gluten ataxia. I had no idea that giving up gluten, etc in my case, that my ataxia would go away. I didn't even have any signs that my legs or balance were improving ... one day after a year on the GF + free diet I could suddenly walk normally ... I could spin in circles even ... Here's a thread by several of us that had gluten ataxia. Notice how many other neuro symptoms each of us had ... http://www.glutenfreeandbeyond.org/forum/v...opic.php?t=3942FWIW ... I have a friend who has high gluten antibodies and was diagnosed with gluten ataxia. After being on the GF diet (not sure how strict she was) for several years she still wasn't getting much better. She was tested and found out that she has casein antibodies and nutritional deficiencies too. IMHO, she'll eventually be diagnosed with leaky gut. TC ... Marcia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaos Posted June 8, 2010 Report Share Posted June 8, 2010 Chaos,The therapy is for a knee injury, not for my balance. My bad balance is not caused by the knee injury, the terrible balance actually contributed to the knee injury. My balance issues occur when I am in the midst of a POTS exacerbation.Dr. Grubb's office prescribed the walker for my "bad spells" and there is no plan to wean me off of it. I don't use it all the time, just when things are bad. The therapist was just giving me her opinion on what she thinks is appropriate for me. I don't think she understands how bad my balance is. Or what POTS is.Thanks everyoneAngelaAngela,Frequently when people are being treated for one thing, it helps if the therapist looks at the whole person and not just the injured joint. If I have a patient that is injured because of a fall, I treat the injury but I also work on balance and proprioception and other activities to try to prevent the same thing happening again. I was just wondering if your therapist was doing that. Once you injure a joint the ability of the joint to receive appropriate proprioceptive feedback is reduced so it is reasonable and within the scope of the treatment to deal with those issues. The more often you injure things, the more problems you may have with balance down the road. I'm sure you're right about her not knowing or truly understanding POTS and how your balance is effected. I think Dr. Grubb probably understands better and that's why he prescribed the walker for you. And you certainly know your body and know what it needs better than either of them, so if the walker feels right, I'd still encourage you to stay with it when you feel you need it. Hope your knee starts feeling better soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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