Yes, a walking stick can cause as much problem as it is useful. That’s why physio always prefare you use 2 sticks if any at all. But for stroke survivors that’s not possible if they have a stroke arm. They never gave me any aids when I left hospital. I just used the walls and furniture to get around, and relied heavily on my hubby’s arm a lot. But it was worth it in the end
And yes, my stairs are also my gym…as well as a gym itself now. But sit to stands are easiest because there’s no no thinking, planning, preparation or equipment required (as your own body weight is all you need). Every has a chair or something they sit on, and it can be done while watching tv even
I have to admit I went backwards technology wise and got out my kids Nintendo and balance board to use with Wii sports, it had two positives for me, the step routine helped but understand where my center of balance had shifted to was brilliant, it’s all about finding what works for you through trial and error hope you find yours among the brilliant advice you’ll get here.
Hi EmeraldEyes. Funnily enough I was wondering about you yesterday and thinking you usually have some good advice and then you popped up on here today! Yes I have a personal trainer - sounds posh! - and I do sit to stands and squats with her. She is excellent and does push me which I need! My stepper is on its way so hopefully it will help me begin to cope with kerbs etc. Have been to see a friend this morning and she has an inch high entrance to her house and I literally froze when I saw it and grabbed the wall!! However I did drive myself to her house - about a mile - got out of the car with no help and managed to get back into the car and drive home again later so that was successful!
Richfinn. Hi yes I’ve got an Orthotic on my stroked leg as without it my foot turns over and I had fallen a couple of times before I received it. Works well but annoyingly I can’t get it on without help as it’s impossible for me to see one of the straps which is at the back of my leg
yes apple I struggle with my boxia splint.on my ankle.
can’t get the velcro strap around.
I have had some success using two
shoe horns pushed into my shoe.one at the back and one on the side the velcro sticks to, its really frustrating but with practice
it is doable in an emergency.
It’s really annoying isn’t it? Lucky I have my husband here to help. I mentioned it to the Orthotics man at the hospital who cheerfully said when I asked what would happen if my husband wasn’t there to fix it “ we would sort something out!” Right!
Some of your issue with stepping up and down is going to be lack of trust and confidence in yourself.
And if you still have poor proprioception/balance issues, that’s going to make it a struggle to rebuild that trust and confidence. Because you can’t trust your foot placement for example. Has any of that improved at all?
That was my issue and it took 2-3 years to get that back. If you can’t sense where your stroke foot lands in relation to where your good foot is, it confuses the signalling for the rest of your body during the movement. Thus your good leg and the rest of your can’t trust you stroke leg. Makes for a lot of body tension and stiffness too.
After yesterday’s post, I payed particular attention to how I step up and down with my stroke leg, don’t feel I have an issue anymore. I did notice I do still have some stiffness or tension the stroke leg. But without the proprioception issue anymore I can step up and down with trust and confidence in both mind and body. I still have the foot drop but without the proprioception issue at least I know where my foot is, how it’s going to land and so the rest of my body is better prepared and confident to adjust to control that issue.
If you have the step set to its lowest point, try stepping down and reverse straight back up again, repetitively. Thus allow your stroke foot to familiarise itself with placement and gives your brain a chance to remap and memorise.
Maybe try doing this type of little exercise just prior to going to bed and then again first thing in the morning. That way your brain stands a better chance to ingrain the memory of those actions. It’s worth a try
thats why i found the kids wii balance board so helpful… i never veven thought of my center of balance before my stroke, afterwards it controled my world… one of my first goals post stroke (going to the loo on my own was 1) was taking my spouse tea in bed, so i did that backwards on my bum we laern we adapt… it took a while to do the stairs alone but the balance board helped me in 2 ways relearn where center now was and where my feet are without me spying on them all the time
I cured my ankle from turning over myself😃
I got several pairs of sloping insoles and put them in all my shoes and even my ballet style slippers, only the right stroke foot though.
They slope in thickness from the outside of the foot to the inside. So about 0.5cm along the outside edge, tapering to about a millimeter along the inside edge.
They come in pairs, so I just turned the left ones over, saved buying as many and wasting all the left foot ones.
I got mine off Amazon, I’ll get you a picture of them later if you’re interested. I have posted them on here in the past but can’t remember where off hand.
I have issues going down a curb, but no problem with stairs, so I have tried putting a piece of paper on the floor, and tried stepping on/off, my problem is getting my knee to bend, I can’t fall off the piece of pair so it has taken the worry away
I have just tried your paper experiment Caer_luel and I can’t believe that I have just spent 5 minutes trying to persuade myself to stand on a piece of paper! Did it in the end but what an effort! Will keep practicing! Thank you. Janet
my paradox of focusing so hard on not falling over that i did more often than i might have otherwise
my stroke stripped away the trust I had in my own skin and its hard to reclaim but youre getting there well done
Nicky
You wouldn’t believe the number of times my hubby had to grab my coat tail to stop me wandering out into the road
He even threatened me with getting a baby harness Thankfully we we settled for him walking kerbside to me instead
Thankfully we we settled for him walking kerbside to me instead