Posts by: Mike Knight

Mike Knight

Mike Knight is a longtime freelance writer, journalist and marketing communications professional who has written for a variety of publications over the past 20+ years including dailies, weeklies, monthlies and inflight magazines and now, MS News Today and also his own site, mikeknightwrites.com. He lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with his wife of 31 years and two cats and a bicycle he refuses to quit riding. After nearly 20 years of disparate illnesses, he was diagnosed with a progressive form of Multiple Sclerosis in 2013.

January 30, 2019February 4, 2019

My Progressive MS Moment of Truth

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

“If I were you two, I think I’d plan for the worst,” Amy, my physiatrist, said to my wife and me as we sat in the examination room. It was ... Read more

December 19, 2018December 18, 2018

My Year-end MS Zen

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

Not long ago, I dreamed I was running. Again. It was the first time I’d had the dream in a while. It was always the same, “Been Caught Stealing,” or ... Read more

November 14, 2018November 20, 2018

Rock Bottom: When Sitting Down Is a Pain in the Butt

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

“The reason you can’t keep your shorts up,” the orthopedist said, “is because you don’t have enough butt anymore.” It was my first visit with this doctor, and I wasn’t ... Read more

October 10, 2018October 15, 2018

Pill Stopper: Why I’m Off My Meds

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

I’m not taking all the medication I’ve been prescribed. Chances are, you’re not either. Medication nonadherence, or not taking medicine as prescribed, is a thing — a big thing. According to ... Read more

September 12, 2018September 14, 2018

Out on a Stim: My FES Journey Comes to an End (Part 3)

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

Third in a series. Read parts one and two. In March 2018, I began a personal research project — quest if you will — to assess how functional electrical stimulation ... Read more

August 8, 2018August 13, 2018

A Good MS Problem to Have: What to Do When I Feel Great?

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

I knew it was going to be one of those days as soon as I opened my eyes. I woke in some sort of half-start, my eyelids popping abruptly open ... Read more

July 11, 2018September 10, 2018

Out on a Stim: The Pros and Cons of FES Devices (Part 2)

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

Second in a series. Read part one. The thing about functional electronic stimulation (FES) devices, at least to me, is waiting for them to engage. No matter how much I ... Read more

May 23, 2018July 10, 2018

Out on a Stim: The Pros and Cons of FES Devices (Part 1)

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

First in a series. For a minute or two, I felt like I was in a time machine. It was late March, and I was test driving (perhaps test walking) ... Read more

April 25, 2018April 24, 2018

Marking the 1-year Anniversary of ‘MS In Motion’

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

April is my month. The weather gets warmer, the world gets greener, and everything just generally lightens up. I was born in April. My wife and I were married in ... Read more

April 11, 2018April 10, 2018

‘OT’ in the House: Occupational Therapy Is Improving My MS Home Life

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

It is noon on Wednesday, and I am sitting in a chair in our living room. My wife holds two books against my hips, one on either side, while Stefani, ... Read more

March 28, 2018March 29, 2018

Brace Yourself: My Ups and Downs with AFOs

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

It was late May 2014, and my wife and I were on our first trip to the Cleveland Clinic. We’d been to Cleveland for a wedding a few years earlier but ... Read more

March 14, 2018March 13, 2018

Effortless: How Occupational Therapy Is Making Life with MS Easier

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

“Today we’re going to talk about the Four Ps,” Stephanie says. “You’ve probably heard of these already, but let’s go through them anyway.” I look at her the way a ... Read more

February 26, 2018

Chill Seeker: Tips for Reducing MS Anxiety

A whopping 43 percent of all people with MS have some type of anxiety disorder. Worse, according to the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America, “Anxiety is perhaps the most taxing ... Read more

February 14, 2018February 13, 2018

The MS Balancing Act: Steady As We Go

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

Gait and balance issues and MS go together like peanut butter and chocolate. At least they do to me. In one way or another, they’ve been in the foreground of my ... Read more

February 12, 2018

Feeling It: Tips For Talking to Others About MS Fatigue

If you have MS, chances are really good that you have MS-related fatigue — about 80 percent of people with MS do according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society of ... Read more

February 5, 2018

MS Spasticity and You: Five Stretches You Should Try (and Why)

An estimated 85 percent of people with MS experience some type of spasticity due to the disease, according to a recent report (p/w) published in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. ... Read more

January 31, 2018January 30, 2018

Dazed and Confused: Tips for when Gravity Calls

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

Nothing resets your thinking like bouncing your head off a hardwood floor. At least, for me. It was about 10 p.m. on a Saturday night, and we were shutting down ... Read more

January 17, 2018January 16, 2018

Stair Master: My Hip Flexors Don’t Lie!

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

What I’m about to write will sound like I am tooting my own horn. I’m not. Really. But something is working for me in my battle to navigate the stairs ... Read more

January 3, 2018May 21, 2018

Turning Corners with MS: Ocrevus, Biotin, and 2018

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight, Ocrevus

Like a lot of people with MS, I took part in the “Great Ocrevus Rush of 2017,” with the fanfare surrounding the release of the first therapy in the United ... Read more

December 20, 2017

5 Tips For Making Every Doctor Visit Count

Effectively managing MS may require ongoing appointments with multiple specialists on your health care team — including neurologists, physical and occupational therapists and others. And it goes without saying they’re ... Read more

December 13, 2017December 12, 2017

Arrested Development: A Moving Tribute to Physical Therapy

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

I am on “house arrest.” Sort of. Let me explain. Earlier this year, I wrote Large and In Charge: Building a Better MS Care Team, a column about my frustration ... Read more

November 29, 2017November 28, 2017

Dis-labeled: How I Got Right with Being Disabled

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

Though I don’t always use it, I take my cane with me every time we go shopping. I can still shuffle to the cart pickup and drop-off without it and ... Read more

November 15, 2017November 15, 2017

3 Tips for Explaining MS to Others

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

Face it: Understanding MS isn’t easy — even if you have it. There’s no known cause, no cure, no predictability in progression, and while there are common symptoms and manifestations, ... Read more

November 6, 2017November 6, 2017

7 Simple Tips for Traveling With MS

With the year-end holiday season hurtling towards us, now is the time many of us start planning to hit the road — making way to see family, friends and loved ... Read more

November 1, 2017November 1, 2017

On the Other Hand: Leaning Left With MS

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

Some months ago my wife and I went out for dinner at our favorite sushi place. As is frequently the custom at sushi restaurants, the table setting included chopsticks. No ... Read more

October 18, 2017October 18, 2017

Cue Me In

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

I have every single malady associated with MS. I’m absolutely positive. Because whenever I find out about a new one, or a new study that says we don’t sleep well, ... Read more

September 20, 2017September 19, 2017

Data Differences: Better Records, Better Care

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

“I’m sorry, these files take forever to copy,” the woman at the registration desk says, breaking the silence that had settled between us while she uploaded MRI scans from the ... Read more

September 6, 2017September 6, 2017

Large and In Charge: Building a Better MS Care Team

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

“What else is going on?” Matt, our family doctor of more than 15 years, asked. It was at the end of a mid-August appointment, one I’d made due to pain ... Read more

August 23, 2017August 22, 2017

Sole Survivor: My Life, One Step at a Time

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

Footwear and shoes and journeys have been in my info stream (and on my mind) a lot lately. First, I stumbled onto a very fine column about shoes and MS ... Read more

August 9, 2017August 8, 2017

Paying Caregiver’s Dues: Giving as Good as I Get

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

The plastic mustard bottle hurtles toward the kitchen floor. Like a statue I stand, mouth agape, as it somersaults in slow-motion through space. Only seconds before, I’d removed the top ... Read more

July 26, 2017July 25, 2017

Dialing for MS Dollars: Fighting ‘Repeal and Replace’ One Call at a Time

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

I have written multiple iterations of this column trying to keep pace with the disastrous healthcare bills being presented first in the U.S. House of Representatives and now the Senate. ... Read more

July 12, 2017July 16, 2017

Write On: Let Your Voice Do the Typing with Voice-to-Text Technology

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

“O-cree-VUS,” I said, clearly and naturally into the headset. I had recently purchased the device for use with the voice-to-text software I need to type (MS, right-hand weakness, loss of ... Read more

June 28, 2017June 27, 2017

Pardon the Introduction: My Life with MS in Motion

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

Though my first brush with MS came in 2000 or so, I wasn’t diagnosed until December 2013 with primary progressive MS. Shortly after the diagnosis, I began scouring the internet for information about the ... Read more

June 21, 2017June 21, 2017

How Pilates Changed My Life … and My MS, Part Four, Addendum: Home Gym For $100

Columns, MS in Motion - a Column by Mike Knight

Earlier this year, I visited a physical therapist I’d seen way back in my running days to devise a home workout routine that could help me address not only foot ... Read more

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