Sensory Ataxia

[Athywhite]

Has anybody else got Sensory Ataxia? I can' find out much about it, I use a stick all of the time and my electric scooter t take the dog out, I used my manual wheelchair to go to football but I don't bother going now. It feels like my whole body is seizing up, both shoulders and arms are incredibly painful and my head feels like a loose button, I find it difficult to get a straight answer from the consultant neurologist

[wobblybee]

🙂 The following is a brief description of Sensory Ataxia. I experience similar but my symptoms are said to be Vestibular.

Sensory ataxia

This is a type of ataxia that develops due to a loss of proprioception.

Proprioception is a person’s sense of the relative position of neighboring parts of their body. It is a sense that indicates whether the body is moving with appropriate effort and gives feedback on the position of body parts relative to each other.

Sensory ataxia typically results in:

an unsteady, stomping gait, with the heel striking hard as it touches the ground with each step

postural instability that becomes worse in poorly lit environments

If a person stands with their eyes closed and feet together, the instability will worsen. This is because a loss of proprioception increases their reliance on visual data.

They may find it hard to perform smoothly coordinated voluntary movements with the limbs, trunk, pharynx, larynx, and eyes.

Copied from medicalnewstoday.com

[Athywhite in reply to wobblybee]

Thanks wobblybee, my sight is terrible at night and I need to take a torch to put the bins out, my balance is terrible and walking is becoming more painful, but, I wake up every morning which is good enough for me

[suzie44na]

Hi, I think I have that. I am really off balance in the dark. I also feel really off balance using an electric toothbrush, for some reason. Do you get seen in Sheffield? I go here it is supposed to be the best place to be seen for Ataxia, I go soon to be seen again. My arms, neck and back are bothering me at present. I wish some consultants would answers questions we ask some don’t seem to. My local doctors don’t have a clue about ataxia.Suzie

[BlanketTime1 in reply to suzie44na]

omg, i have the electric toothbrush thing. the first time i used it, i felt like i was moving, like swaying. i asked my mum in case it was normal, but (surprise!) it isn't. weird, huh?

[suzie44na in reply to BlanketTime1]

I know, it awful I am exactly the same, it is weird.Suzie

[Athywhite]

I go to Salford Royal (been going there for over 3 years now) the consultant neurologist is meant to be one of the best in his field so I trust him implicitly, I just wish he would talk to me

[suzie44na in reply to Athywhite]

It does not seem good to me if he does not talk to you, what to you get out of that. I like to ask questions and get answers lol. Try to talk to him then and ask questions, if he does not talk to you , I would write to him.Suzie

[BlanketTime1]

i am not familiar with sensory ataxia. thanks wobblybee for the explanation. what's interesting is that whole using the eyes for balance applies to me. i wasn't told which type of ataxia i have, so i'm not much help...

i did wonder though. i have dystonia as well and i have an odd gait, so stretching has become very important to me. if you haven't had physio, perhaps the stretching is something you could do at home?

[Athywhite]

I've been for more nerve conduction tests today, not sure they achieve anything,

[Athywhite]

Received my 'all clear' from Oncology at The Christie which I'm very pleased about, just the Ataxia to think about again now, such is life