Living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) can be challenging. It manifests differently in each person, and symptoms often fluctuate and evolve over time. Whether you’re struggling with fatigue, muscle weakness, difficulty walking, spasticity, vision loss, or cognitive impairment, these symptoms can significantly impact your quality of life and ability to complete activities of daily living. This, in turn, can lead to isolation, anxiety, and depression. The chronic nature of this condition often requires significant physical, emotional, and financial resources, further leading to stress and frustration. However, there are many treatment options, walking aids, and gait training exercises that can help you better manage your MS.
The MS Gym: Where Strength-Training and Support Unite
The MS Gym, founded by Trevor Wicken, is a dynamic platform that provides a comprehensive approach to managing MS through exercise and community support. Offering a wealth of resources, including workout videos, educational materials, and a thriving online community, The MS Gym offers resources for those seeking practical, accessible solutions to regain strength, improve their gait, and better manage their mindset around MS.
With an emphasis on neurorehabilitation exercises tailored to accommodate various MS and other upper-motor neuron disease-related symptoms, The MS Gym has become a home for MSers to find support, encouragement, empathy, education, and acceptance in a close-knit community.
Top gait training exercises
Multiple sclerosis can often lead to challenges in mobility, including difficulties with walking. However, through targeted gait training exercises, it’s possible to improve gait patterns and enhance overall mobility. Here are five of Trevor’s favorite gait correction exercises tailored specifically for individuals living with MS. As always, only perform exercises that are appropriate for your mobility, and be sure to use assistive devices as needed. Use a stable surface for balance, along with any other modifications you require.
Banded Toe Raises:
Begin seated in a stable chair. Place a resistance band underneath the middle of your foot. Pull the ends of the band up so that you are holding them around the level of your knee. With your heel planted firmly on the ground, lift your foot upwards while pulling up on the band to assist with the movement. p. Once your toes are up, slowly push them back down into the floor. This drill helps improve ankle mobility and the ability to dorsiflex.
Hip Car:
The Hip Car exercise is a dynamic mobility drill designed to enhance hip joint flexibility and range of motion. Position yourself next to a stable surface for support, such as a countertop or chair. Begin by standing with feet shoulder-width apart and lifting one knee towards your chest. Slowly rotate the knee outward in a controlled circular motion, moving it away from the midline of your body and lowering your foot to the ground.
Reverse the motion and repeat. Focus on a slow and controlled movement, gradually increasing the size of the circles as you become more comfortable. Perform the exercise on the other side. Regularly incorporating Hip Car exercises into your routine can lead to improved hip mobility and reduced stiffness, promoting overall functional movement.
Calf Raises:
If you feel safe doing so and while holding on to a stable surface, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, keep your knees slightly bent, and then rise onto your toes, lifting your heels off the ground. Hold this position briefly before lowering your heels back down. This exercise targets the calf muscles, which play a vital role in providing the necessary push-off during the gait cycle, thus improving overall walking efficiency.
For added difficulty, if appropriate for your mobility, stand on a platform that allows you to hang your heels off, while placing your hands against a wall or counter for increased stability. Keep balls of your feet on the platform, and rise onto your toes, holding for a few seconds at the top. Lower your heels back down and repeat.
Rockers:
Sit on a stable surface, such as a chair or couch, with your feet flat on the floor. Align your knees directly above your ankles. Lift your heels while keeping the balls of your feet on the ground. Return your heels to the ground and lift your toes while keeping your heels on the ground. Repeat ten times.
Learn more about rockers here.
Lateral Leg Raises:
Stand next to a stable surface for support, such as a countertop or chair. Lift one leg out to the side, keeping it straight and ensuring your hips remain stable. Lower the leg back down and repeat the movement on the other side. Lateral leg raises aid in strengthening the hip abductors, which are crucial for maintaining stability and proper gait mechanics.
It’s crucial to consult with a healthcare professional or a physical therapist before incorporating any new exercise routine, especially if you have specific mobility or safety concerns related to MS or other neurologic disorders.
Consistency and proper form are key to experiencing the full benefits of these exercises. By incorporating these gait correction exercises into your daily regimen, you can take significant strides (pun-intended) toward improving your mobility, reducing your risk of falls, and enjoying a more active and independent lifestyle.
If you’re interested in additional resources to improve your walking, check out The MS Gym’s free exercise guides, including Stretching to Reduce Spasticity, Mobility to Manage Foot Drop, and Hip Flexor Strengthening.
Beyond Gait Training Exercises: Walking Aids & Assistive Devices
In addition to working to strengthen muscles and improve gait, assistive devices are helpful tools to assist with mobility for individuals living with MS. There are many types of devices available, including canes, walkers, rollators, or FES devices, such as the Cionic Neural Sleeve.
The Cionic Neural Sleeve is a cutting-edge innovation that delivers functional electrical stimulation to the four major muscle groups of the leg, including the quad, hamstring, shin, and calf. FDA-cleared and designed to look more like a clothing garment than a medical device, the sleeve combines the diagnostic power of a gait lab with the therapeutic power of functional electrical stimulation.
Indicated to improve strength and increase range of motion, the Cionic Neural Sleeve also promotes neuromuscular re-education. In October, it was named a TIME Best Invention of 2023.
Maximizing Mobility With Gait Training Exercises and Assistive Devices
Here at CIONIC, we believe exercise and movement play a huge role in managing MS & other neurologic disorders. Many of our early adopters have expressed how much The MS GYM has helped improve their mobility.
Here’s what one of our customers had to say, “Between the sleeve and The MS GYM, my gait has improved more these past two months than the previous five years. I was losing hope I would ever be able to walk this well again. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am.”
We recently met with Trevor so he could try out the sleeve for himself. Here’s what he had to say.
To see if the Cionic Neural Sleeve is right for you, take the 5-question assessment.
To learn more about The MS Gym, click here.
