October 25, 2023 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Neural Sleeve to aid walking with MS makes Time’s best inventions list Neural Sleeve, a bionic piece of clothing by Cionic designed to help with walking and strength, is among the 200 devices on Time magazineās annual list of best inventions, under its accessibility category. The lightweight, leg-worn device, which combines continuous motion analysis with functional electrical stimulation,…
August 4, 2022 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister How My MS Diagnosis Journey Became My Origin Story If I were a superhero (or a supervillain, for that matter), Iād have an origin story. As it stands, Iām not even a minor hero in real life, and only a mediocre one when appearing in my own stories. Iām just a guy with multiple sclerosis, and all I…
June 20, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Neural Sleeve Improves Mobility, Reduces Pain and Depression: Cionic 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…
April 29, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias Remembering My First MS Symptom What was your first MS symptom? Mine ā the one that made me realize something was really wrong ā 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…
March 11, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD FDA Clears Leg-worn ‘Neural Sleeve’ to Aid Walking 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 sclerosisĀ (MS) and other conditions that affect mobility. The decision comes four months after the company submitted the device ā the first to…
January 28, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS Hiker Laces Up Her Boots for Appalachian Trail 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…
November 22, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Neural Sleeve, Supplements, Ocrevus, Cladribine Injection Wearable āNeural Sleeveā 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…
November 15, 2021 News by Mary Chapman Wearable ‘Neural Sleeve’ Counters Foot Drop, Aids Mobility in Study People in a Neural SleeveĀ gaitĀ study were reported to show an “average improvement” of 143% in foot drop, a common symptom ofĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) and other conditions that hinder mobility, its developer, Cionic, reports. The wearable ābionicā device ā which analyzes, predicts,…
July 22, 2021 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Are You Prepared for a Fall? 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…
March 16, 2021 News by Mary Chapman Foot Drop Device Earns Innovation Challenge Prize 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…
December 6, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias I’ve Had Success with the Bioness L300 Go This Time Around 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…
October 4, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias My Fortuitous Footwear Discovery: I Found the Right MS Shoes 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…
August 8, 2019 Columns by Tamara Sellman Need to Know: What Is Foot Drop and What Can I Do About It? Editor’s note: “Need to Knowā 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 topicĀ “Do you suffer from the MS symptom of ādrop foot?ā” from Sept. 20,…
June 13, 2019 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Move It or Lose It: Movement Is Crucial to Well-being with MS 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…
May 3, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias A Judge Takes a Swing at an Insurance Company’s Denials 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…
January 28, 2019 Columns by Debi Wilson I’m Keeping Aware of Fall Risks with MS āOh no, not again.ā 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…
March 28, 2018 Columns by Mike Knight Brace Yourself: My Ups and Downs with AFOs It was late May 2014, and my wife and I were on our first trip to the Cleveland Clinic. Weād been to Cleveland for a wedding a few years earlierĀ but had been too busy to explore. We booked a room at the…
January 31, 2018 Columns by Mike Knight Dazed and Confused: Tips for when Gravity Calls 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…
August 23, 2017 Columns by Mike Knight Sole Survivor: My Life, One Step at a Time 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…
June 29, 2017 Columns by Tamara Sellman The MS Alphabet: Foot Drop, Flexion, Fingolimod, and More ‘F’ Terms (Editorās note: Tamara Sellman continues her occasional series on the MS alphabet with this first of two columns about terms starting with the letter āF.ā) When it comes to multiple sclerosis, mastering an understanding of the disease means you need to mind your Ps and…
January 4, 2017 Columns by Judy Lynn Party with MS: Tips for Staying Aware, Carefree on the Dance Floor Cookies and veggie tray in tow, and trepidation in check, I ventured to a New Yearās Eve party at a friendās house. Since my diagnosis of MS, New Yearās Eve has been celebrated at home with Dick Clark, and then Ryan Seacrest, to keep me company. In Winter…
September 14, 2016 Columns by Judy Lynn ‘Look Ma, No Feet!’ A Lesson in Mechanical Hand Controls When my physiatrist diagnosed my MS āfoot drop,ā 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…
September 7, 2016 Columns by Judy Lynn MS Foot Drop and the Road to Physiatry When I first heard about MS āfoot drop,ā I assumed that the manifestation of this symptom would be a sudden and obvious inability to walk properly. Ā I knew many people with MS who used canes and walked with significant stiffness or a “dragging” limb. I filed āfoot dropā away…
August 16, 2016 Columns by Judy Lynn Bloom, Wherever You Fall! An MS Detour 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,”…