How do you walk?

[Tmasgio]

The other forum about How's your back prompted me to start this thread.

I can feel my feet and legs albeit the muscles are numb but I have full feeling outside if that makes any sense. My torso can get tight is stimulated to much by clothing or even a hot shower.

So to get to the walking I can walk I guess as normal as possible. I can close my eyes and have balance and I can turn around even with them closed without losing balance. I guess I am lucky in that regard. I do find it strange that I did not lose proprioception in my limbs but did lose sensory from my waist down. I do keep my balance by using a larger stance or spread my legs farther apart.

Does anyone else share the same thing as far as sensory and proprioception. One other thing that I have not gotten is a feeling of heavy limbs rather I have that my legs feel ligther if that is possible.

I dont want to discourage anyone but rather try to relate to what others have to go through in order to walk. I know I too get very tired throughout the day and it is not all due to pain meds.

Tony

[8338]

Tony,
My legs are heavy, I loose my balance when I shut my eyes or are in complete darkness and have numbness from my trunk down.
Where was your tumor?
Barb

[Tmasgio]

My tumor was C3-C7 and Ependymoma. I guess I do have a realitively good outcome. I still have the numbess and tightness in my midsection but that is not numb. Really strange sometimes these nerves are.

[Joel]

I'm pretty much numb from the neck down. My surgery was C2-C4. I do still walk, but not all that well. Actually, quite badly. I walk like I've got a corn cob stuck where the sun don't shine, like my left leg is on backwards, and like I've had about 8 too many glasses of wine. I use a cane most of the time.

[susan]

I don't have trouble walking, but if I start to lose my balance leaning backwards, it takes many steps back before I can steady myself (sort of like a little old lady). It is embarrassing if it happens at work, I just go "I have a little neuro problem..." I have managed to avoid falling so far.
I also tend to start to go backwards about half way up a staircase if I don't hold the hand rail or lean forward a little.

Tony, I too can to feel on my skin, but feeling like the layer of tissue under my skin is numb, but mine is on my right arm, shoulder and back. It feels really weird in a shower.
My right arm is the most affected. When I lift hand weights (all 2 lbs of them), the one in my right hand feels lighter. When I was in PT, I would find myself checking to make sure I had the correct weight, because it felt so much lighter than the one in my left hand.
I'm sure that was an extension of my "floating" right hand. Initially post-op, my right hand felt like it wanted to be in the air above my shoulder. I felt like I needed to hold it down. I should have experimented and let it float to see how long I could have left it there!

[chickiet]

I am at least somewhat numb from the mid-torso down, with it bieng progressively worse the further down you go. As a result, my feet are very numb, and my legs are heavy and numb, while also hypersentive.

I can walk, but it certainly is not pretty. I'm somewhat bent over and have a bit of a limp. I kind of shuffle along - I can pick my feet up but I don't seem to know how high to lift them.

My biggest challenge lately has been with balance. I have missed a step and fallen a few times, fortunately didn't get hurt. It might be that I think I know where my foot is, but I really don't know. If I have 100% of my concentration on walking, I can do much better - same with balance if I try to lean or shift positions to put something away or pick something up. The minute I get a little less attentive I lose my balance.

And with me, each day I start out relatively ok - and then it's downhill (sometimes literally ) from there.

Chris

[cindylee]

well, I try to be on the alert for whatever my feet have in mind for me that day. But like you Tony, I have that same numbness. I also have the heavy legs. It does not matter if I am on my feet for ten minutes or 2 hours. They still will feel heavy. I walk a lot...my job, the dog, errands. But most of the time I have no sensation of walking, if that makes sense. My legs just go and I folow them. Cindy

[ScrapHeap]

I guess it must have something or a lot to do w/where the sc injury is. From all I've read since being on this forum, each of us has somewhat similar issues while each is also slightly to largely different.

My tumors were mid thoracic. One inside the cord, another outside. I walk like a drunk a lot of times. I stagger for no good reason - just lost my balance. It's like my gyroscope is defective sometimes. When the gyro is working it feels like I am walking in waist high water or sand. Heavy legs. I can't feel my feet. Yet they hurt a lot - more without shoes on. I have moderate to profound numbness from the top of the butt to the back of the ankles. More so in the back than in the front. Front feels semi normal.

When I am in closed in areas proprioception is minimal. In open areas it is profound. In the dark, well, I fall like a rock. I suppose my brain needs the visual input to compensate for the lack of or nonexistent feedback from my feet. So, no devices usually when walking in familiar, close quarter areas. A cane for open areas and a seat on the sidelines in the dark.

-Mike

[Oscar Medina]

Intramedullary Ependymoma C4-C7. successfully removed by Dr. Ziya Gokazlan from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland on March 29, 2005.

Your condition is very similar to mine. I have the lighter legs, especially the left one. I don't have a problem with balance, but same with sensory and proprioception. Torso gets tight and i lost sensory from my nipples down. You seem to be doing great! How long has it been since your surgery?

Watch out for those meds, especially the ones that could be addictive. I'm till trying to wean off Tramadol (Ultram) after three years. It has taken me 6 months to go down to 40 mg twice a day from 100 mg twice a day. It's very addictive! If I had been told Tramadol was addictive I would've stopped taking it two weeks after surgery.

Oscar

[Tmasgio]

It has been 16 months since my surgery. I am doing good but of course have those darn problems like most. The numbness and tightness can be trying at times but I still get out there and live life to the fullest.