Stretching?

[JacksonAn]

I am pretty active. I noticed that stretching makes my walking gait worse.

I have done plenty of physical therapy and personal training so I know my form is correct. I always warm up prior to stretching.

Does anyone else have any experience with this? It is frustrating because I think stretching is something that should be beneficial to all.

Thanks,

[Golfdog3]

I am pretty active too. I find that stretching helps. Sometimes I get very tight on mostly one side. A chiropractor has diagnosed that my Psoas is the main culprit. I’ve always wondered if this was because of AMN or something unrelated.

[Equinney]

are you taking anything for spasticity? If not, stretching could very easily be causing the nerves to overexcite and make your gait worse. When you say your gait worse, is it that your legs want to jerk and twitch, or do they want to stay stiff?

[JacksonAn in reply to Equinney]

I have tried several drugs for spasticity in the past. I didn’t like the negative side effects (sluggish, confused, even more off balance).

The muscles don’t stay stiff but I do get this jerking your are talking about. My hips rotate inward when walking. I try to strengthen the gluteal muscles to counteract this but it doesn’t help much.

I would describe myself as someone who has a hyper nervous system. So that nerve over excitement might make sense.

[Equinney]

I have to agree Baclofen did seem to make me feel sluggish. I think my muscles going crazy kept me from feeling sluggish in movement. I did get to the point that I went with my neurologists recommendation of a intrathecal baclofen pump. The doses are so small that there aren’t any side effects. But it got me from using an upright walker to where I can go small distances without anything. Of hiking poles just for balance.

[mariagno]

Your muscles are giant rubber bands. If they are tight they require little thought to move. If too tight, they twitch or jerk.

If they are too loose, it takes extra effort to move things.

It is very delicate to get thing just right.

You need to be consistent, one way or another. Your brain will readjust things with a consistent plan. Have you tried stretching and some leg exercise with weights?

Sometimes when you stretch the muscle needs some lifting to go with it.

Also, doctors love to over prescribe Baclofen and Gabapention. Start with very small doses and work your way up.

[Djp1989]

The key is to only stretch when "warmed up". So do some walking and get your body moving. When you stretch a muscle, it must be for 45 seconds at least. Otherwise it will cause more spasticity. I found that out from a MS physical therapist. Gently stretch the muscles. You can't just force them to be loose otherwise it'll cause more problems.