Many MS symptoms can interfere with mobility, including fatigue, spasticity, dizziness and vertigo, pain, numbness, and problems with walking, coordination, and vision, among others. Even depression, which is very common in MS, can interfere with a person's ability to stay mobile and active.
Mobility problems are common among people with multiple sclerosis, but there's a lot you can do to stay on your feet. Eighty percent of people who have multiple sclerosis (MS) experience problems with walking within 10 to 15 years of the onset of the disease, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS).
Contents. You may have to adapt your daily life if you're diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), but with the right care and support many people can lead long, active and healthy lives.
Contractures and Spasticity
MS-induced immobility causes joint and muscle stiffness to develop, restricting your range of motion. And MS often causes muscles to stiffen and contract, with or without immobility.
But some patients may experience substantial disability soon after the onset of disease, while others may live with MS for far longer than three decades without ever developing truly disabling symptoms.
Disease Course of MS Is Unpredictable
A person with benign MS will have few symptoms or loss of ability after having MS for about 15 years, while most people with MS would be expected to have some degree of disability after that amount of time, particularly if their MS went untreated.
Balance: Balance problems typically result in a swaying and “drunken” type of gait known as ataxia. Sensory deficit: Some people with MS have such severe numbness in their feet that they cannot feel the floor or know where their feet are. This is referred to as a sensory ataxia.
Characteristics of the MS gait pattern
You may walk more slowly, with shorter steps. You may lack in confidence when you walk – leading to hesitation and stumbling. You might feel unsteady when turning or walking. You might find placing your foot on the ground difficult.
No-one one can be certain how your MS will affect you, although most people with MS don't use a wheelchair. Learning how to deal with unpredictability and being prepared to manage changes will help you take back the control you might feel MS has taken away.
Four disease courses have been identified in multiple sclerosis: clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), primary progressive MS (PPMS) and secondary progressive MS (SPMS).
In many patients, over a span of 5 to 15 years, the attacks begin more indolently, persist more chronically and remit less completely, gradually transforming into a pattern of steady deterioration rather than episodic flares. This pattern is referred to as secondary progressive MS.
These symptoms can fluctuate depending on the time of day. For example, symptoms affected by heat tend to be worse during the day, while muscle tightness and pain worsen at night. There are things people with MS can do to cope with symptoms during day and night time fluctuations.
Heavy Legs & Multiple Sclerosis
Feeling weakness in one or both of your legs is called monoparesis or paraparesis and can be a direct result of MS.
Your neurologist will look for abnormalities, changes or weakness in your vision, eye movements, hand or leg strength, balance and co-ordination, speech and reflexes. These may show whether your nerves are damaged in a way that might suggest MS.
There is a long list of possible MS symptoms, and they vary from person to person. The most common symptoms of MS include fatigue, urinary and bowel issues and sexual dysfunction. Some patients may have problems with pain, walking, balance, blurred vision, slurred speech and swallowing.
Other MS symptoms can have a large impact on walking too. If your vision is blurred or double, or you have altered depth perception, you might find it difficult to place your feet accurately or judge steps and kerbs. Problems with balance, dizziness and tremor can affect walking and so can pain.
Mood changes
These feelings will likely ebb and flow over the course of the disease. Worry, fear, moodiness, irritability and anxiety: normal reactions in the face of unpredictability; anyone can become irritable and anxious when faced with difficult challenges. Depression: one of the most common symptoms of MS.
Problems with the joints, (such as arthritis), bones (such as deformities), circulation (such as peripheral vascular disease), or even pain can make it difficult to walk properly. Diseases or injuries to the nerves, muscles, brain, spinal cord, or inner ear can affect normal walking.
Gait impairments are well-documented in multiple sclerosis (MS). Persons with MS (PwMS) have demonstrated decreased straight-line velocity and step length, lower limb swing asymmetry, reduced maximum hip and knee extension, and an overall decrease in propulsive force during walking [1].
Outlook. The outlook for benign MS isn't clear. Some people who are diagnosed with it never go on to have a more serious disease progression, while others do. Remember, just because you have mild symptoms when you're first diagnosed with MS doesn't mean that they'll stay that way.
Can I have multiple sclerosis for years and not know it? Yes. MS can go undetected for years. Research has suggested that many patients experience MS-related symptoms and signs several years before receiving a definite diagnosis of the disease.
Here's where MS (typically) starts
You may experience eye pain, blurred vision and headache. It often occurs on one side and can eventually lead to partial or total vision loss. Spinal cord inflammation, or what's called partial transverse myelitis, is the second most common symptom Shoemaker typically sees.