foot drop

Most people take for granted the feeling of stability while standing on their feet. My invisible multiple sclerosis (MS) symptom is unsteady gait, one of my biggest struggles, but you likely wouldn’t know it just by looking at me. My unsteady gait is associated with the effect that…

The Neural Sleeve developed by Cionic significantly reduced foot drop, which is a difficulty lifting the foot that often causes people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to drag their toes when they walk. The lightweight bionic garment is cleared in the U.S. to improve mobility in MS. In…

Neural Sleeve, a bionic piece of clothing by Cionic designed to help with walking and strength, is among the 200 devices on Time magazine’s annual list of best inventions, under its accessibility category. The lightweight, leg-worn device, which combines continuous motion analysis with functional electrical stimulation,…

If I were a superhero (or a supervillain, for that matter), I’d have an origin story. As it stands, I’m not even a minor hero in real life, and only a mediocre one when appearing in my own stories. I’m just a guy with multiple sclerosis, and all I…

Cionic‘s leg-worn Neural Sleeve, recently authorized in the U.S. to aid walking in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other conditions that impair mobility, reduced foot drop in a small clinical trial. Patients in the trial also reported marked reductions in pain and mental health problems, according to…

What was your first MS symptom? Mine — the one that made me realize something was really wrong — was my inability to squeeze the toothpaste tube with my left hand one morning. Of course, there were earlier hints of trouble. I was unusually tired while attending a business…

Cionic has received authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its lightweight, leg-worn Neural Sleeve to improve walking in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other conditions that affect mobility. The decision comes four months after the company submitted the device — the first to…

Reservations at a base lodge have been made, and a starting date is circled on her calendar. MS hiker April Hester is ready to start up the Appalachian Trail in the eastern U.S. It’s always an uphill hike for April, even when the trail is flat. She was diagnosed with…

Wearable ‘Neural Sleeve’ Counters Foot Drop, Aids Mobility in Study This is a neat concept, described by the manufacturer as a lightweight sleeve on the lower leg that predicts the movement a leg is about to make. Then it sends a signal to the muscles to help lift that…

People in a Neural Sleeve gait study were reported to show an “average improvement” of 143% in foot drop, a common symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other conditions that hinder mobility, its developer, Cionic, reports. The wearable “bionic” device — which analyzes, predicts,…

I sit amid the flood of carpet stain remover. My left leg is elongated as my right leg is at a jackknife. The cool of the fluid penetrates my sweats. Shock dissipates into pain. I try to move, but pain sears down toward my tailbone. I sit in the dark…

As winner of the Lyfebulb and Bristol Myers Squibb Innovation Challenge in multiple sclerosis (MS), Evolution Devices will use the $25,000 in prize money to further develop a smart stimulation therapy that seeks to improve patient mobility. The innovative electrical device under development by Pierluigi Mantovani, co-founder…

I used the Bioness L300, a functional electrical stimulation (FES) device, for about seven years to counter my left foot drop. I strapped it to my leg just below the knee. As I began to take a step, it sent a low-intensity electrical pulse down a nerve that runs from…

The other night, I had an MS dream. In it, I was able to lift my left leg as well as I can my right one, regardless of my weak hip flexor. I don’t usually know what’s triggered a dream, but this time I did: My Bioness L300 had…

Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forum. This week’s question is inspired by the forum topic “Do you suffer from the MS symptom of ‘drop foot?’” from Sept. 20,…

A well-known mantra exists in the multiple sclerosis (MS) community. I first heard it after my diagnosis and have since adopted it as my own. “Move it or lose it.” Movement is essential for everyone’s health and well-being. For those of us with multiple sclerosis, it is imperative. Regular activity…

Robert Scola Jr. is a federal judge in Miami, and he’s just recused himself from a case involving the UnitedHealthcare (UHC) insurance company. The case is one of two filed in Miami over the last two months claiming that UHC has improperly denied coverage for a specific cancer…

“Oh no, not again.” My mind races and time slows as I crumble to the floor. Every downward movement is magnified, and so too is the pain of my twisted left foot and leg. They have become the resting place for my slumping body. My fuzzy and confused mind…

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 had been too busy to explore. We booked a room at the…

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 the house. That routine consists of turning lights off, locking doors, and plugging in phones and…

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 written by Jennifer Powell (Exchanging a Sole for a Soul). Her essay resonated…

(Editor’s note: Tamara Sellman continues her occasional series on the MS alphabet with this first of two columns about terms starting with the letter “F.”) When it comes to multiple sclerosis, mastering an understanding of the disease means you need to mind your Ps and…

Cookies and veggie tray in tow, and trepidation in check, I ventured to a New Year’s Eve party at a friend’s house. Since my diagnosis of MS, New Year’s Eve has been celebrated at home with Dick Clark, and then Ryan Seacrest, to keep me company. In Winter…

When my physiatrist diagnosed my MS “foot drop,” she wrote a prescription for vehicle hand controls. I was both elated and terrified. Could I drive long distances again? Arrive pain-free, able to do a short hike? Could I regain the freedom of knowing I would not have to…

When I first heard about MS “foot drop,” I assumed that the manifestation of this symptom would be a sudden and obvious inability to walk properly.  I knew many people with MS who used canes and walked with significant stiffness or a “dragging” limb. I filed “foot drop” away…

Editor’s Note: MS Patient Specialist and Columnist Judy Lynn writes from her unique and engaging perspective as an MS patient reflecting on the challenges that the disease presents and how to cope with them in her daily life. In her debut article for her new Column “You’ve Got Some Nerves,”…