What is Multiple Sclerosis?
Multiple sclerosis, or what most people call MS, is a condition that affects the eye, brain, and spinal cord. The condition is a result of nerve damage. The nerve damage occurs when an individual’s immune system attacks myelin in his or her body. The damaged myelin exposes the nerves that are usually underneath it to other body components, therefore, causing MS when the nerves become damaged.
Multiple sclerosis has many symptoms. Because the disease itself will affect cognitive and brain function, its symptoms will be seen in these areas.
Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis
When you book an appointment to see a physical therapist in Kalamazoo, MI there are certain procedures you should expect when you report for your appointment.
For one, the physical therapists at Advantage Physical Therapy in Kalamazoo, MI will check you for balance. How well do you balance on one leg for example? These tests should only take a short time. After that, your physical therapist will ask you a series of questions to establish whether you exhibit the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. If your physical therapist is convinced that you may have MS, he or she will order an MRI to confirm it.
Some of the questions that you can expect from a physical therapist in Kalamazoo, MI include:
- Do you feel weak majority of the time?
- Does your vision blur from time to time, or do you experience double vision?
- Do you occasionally experience muscle tremors?
- Have you recently been having any problems with your sexual performance?
- Do you feel any pain when you are prodded or poked?
- Do you feel disoriented when you are walking?
- Do you often forget trivial things like dates, or do you have trouble thinking clearly at times?
- Do you have trouble getting up in the morning? Are you somber most of the time?
If your answer to these questions is yes, you might want to start treatment as soon as possible.
Treating Multiple Sclerosis
You can achieve successful treatment of multiple sclerosis by doing the regular exercise that your physical therapist directs you to do. The physical therapy at Advantage Physical Therapy in Kalamazoo, MI plan of treatment involves therapeutic activities that:
- Helps in pain management: exercises such as stretches help build up endurance which is essential if you are going to walk every day while in pain.
- Increases your range of motion: stretches increase your motion so that you can move your limbs in wide arches without feeling constricted
- Improves your muscle coordination and strengthens your muscles: when you have MS, you have a hard time coordinating your muscles, so you end up falling a lot of times. By doing a little exercise under the direction of a physical therapist, you can learn to control your muscles. Apart from that, you can strengthen those using therapeutic exercises so that you are less likely to suffer from muscle spasms.
- Helps you adapt to walking aids: some of those who suffer from MS are given walking aids like wheelchairs or canes to help them in walking. The physical therapists in Kalamazoo, MI will help you learn to walk using these by gradually introducing you to them.
If you are using an effective treatment plan for MS, you should see signs of improvement about three appointments into your therapy. Get the best of these treatments by signing up for physical therapy at Advantage Physical Therapy in Kalamazoo, MI.