Multiple sclerosis is a central nervous system autoimmune condition that damages myelin sheath that protects the nervous system, affects brain and spinal cord and leads to aggravated conditions like muscle weakness and vision, and more.
People suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS) struggled to maintain her balance due to extreme muscle weakness.
A mom told HealthDay, “My daughter told me to stop walking with them basically because it’s embarrassing when I fall,” the mother recounted in a study. “I mis-stepped, just kind of fell over. But she turned around and looked at me and went, 'Oh, mom, ah, it’s embarrassing. I don’t want you to walk us because it’s embarrassing when you fall.’ ”
A review found that the emotions linked to these gait-related issues, shame, embarrassment and anxiety, add to MS patients’ distress.
Lead researcher Emily Wood, a doctoral student at Murdoch University in Australia, stated, “Because these barriers feel beyond their control, many people with MS described feeling increasingly disconnected, which can lead to withdrawal from community spaces.”
As per the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, walking problems affect as many as 80% of people with MS.
Scientists reviewed 90 studies involving over 1,800 people with MS for better comprehension of what day-to-day walking is like for them.
“Our goal was to center the voices of people living with MS and understand, in their own words, what it truly feels like for them to walk in their homes and communities,” Wood stated.
The analysis discovered nearly four key themes among people with MS.
The review found that MS patients are stigmatised because of their walking issues.
The most commonly experienced symptom of MS is foot drop, in which the disease damages control over the muscles that flex the ankle, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Frustration over their lost abilities and anxiety over falling also tended to isolate MS patients.
Patients stated that family and friends largely mean well; however, it can be unintentionally discouraging.
“My family, they think they support me, but they don’t because they think if they see me walking to town, which is like a mile up and a mile back, ‘Oh well then, she’s fine. You know, what is she talking about. She’s just making this stuff up,’” one patient expressed his thoughts.
Furthermore, researchers stressed the need for the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)system to be complemented with patient reports to know the emotional turmoil caused by MS-related walking problems.
