I have seen some amazing results in my 20 years as a rehab specialist and the past few years have been the most dramatic, as I have worked with many clients trying to learn how to walk again which has really tested my skills and knowledge. Exercises I would often use successfully to improve stability and strength with other injuries like knee pain or hip pain, had very little effect on changing a person’s ability to walk. After months of applying these strength and stability methods and getting nowhere I noticed there was one thing that all these people with severe walking impairments had in common, and that was a very stiff and rigid foot. This rigidity in the foot made it impossible for any other muscle in the leg to function correctly. Working on the foot separately provided some small gains in mobility and strength, but really had no effect as to the way they used the foot when they walked. Sometimes the best ideas come by accident or experimentation and this was one of those times. While I was helping one of our clients walk across a path I noticed how her gait changed whenever she stood on small stones. As her feet were so rigid her foot felt every little stone or bump and instantly reacted to move away from the pain. Her entire gait changed due to the pain in her foot. It was at this point I discovered the benefit of walking across uneven rocky surfaces could play a vital role in restoring motor function. The best part about this is it works almost instantly! This led me to using the Sensa Mat which is arguably the best piece of training equipment I have added to my program over the last 10 years! In this article, I will explain how this works and how you can use it in your own training.
Why Strength Training Is Vital For People With Multiple Sclerosis
Over the past 20 years we have provided great rehabilitation programs and results for people find solutions to injury and chronic pain by learning how to move better and improve strength and stability. More recently we have attracted people with complex cases of not so much pain, but disability and disease seeking to improve their ability to move in life using exercise. From MS, to spinal cord injury, to cerebral paulsy and stroke, we have multiple different cases of people we see on a weekly basis all being taught how to improve movement skills and motor programs being driven by the brain and the nervous system. In this article, I am going to look specifically at Multiple sclerosis. Even though this disease has evolved with treatment plans, medication and assistance, there still is a lack of education about the value of exercise and in particular the role of strength training for managing this disease. I will share with you some of the methods and principles I use effectively in our program each day.