Regaining Balance

[gcoe]

Is there a way I can reprocess the information getting sent from my inner ear to go to the cerebellum?

if the lesion is in the cerebellum itself then the problem is not with the information itself, rather the procssing of it withon the damaged cerebellum. As I understand it when you practice walking now two things that can help come intp play:

1. Circuits in the cerebellum that are still intact may be able to take over in part
2. Other parts of the brain that also control walking my learn how to compensate and do some of the job of the cerebellum.

In order to get these processes to work you have to do a huge amount of practice and although there may eventually be some ways to speed up this sort of learning ( eg certain drugs or gene therapy or stem cell therapy) we are just not there yet. So at this stage the best we can is apply our understanding about how we improve our motor skills. And the most important of things is just putting n the practice. If you havedone this and you aren't getting any improvement then unfortunately there may not be much ability for these processes to do more. However physiotherapy in real life may often not be intensive enough - in rehab it is often hard for economic reasons to provide the hours required. So ythat might be something to consider.

I feel as if I have balance but I have no confidence to walk by myself, I can only cruise from furniture to furniture or use crutches how would I know if I have the balance needed to walk

that sounds to me like that is very much to do with lack of balance. You have enough muscle power to get yourself from A to B. But you can't do it without going off course or falling over. So cruthes and furniture are ways you use to compensate for that lack of balance. The problem is like this: every time you use a crutch or hold onto furniure you successfully compensate for the blance problem but then you don't get the needed practice in to relearn how to correct your walking. In that way the problem is very much like learning a very demanding skill if your brain is not damaged. You couldn't learn to balance on a skateboard if you used crutches to steady yourself - you just have to do it. That is where the BWSTT comes in - aims to keep you upright enough to keep you on track but allows you to make errors in your balance and to correct those errors

although I know I should listen to my physiotherapist and obey her, I feel as if the ones I get are of no help or little help for fixing what I prioritize as most important but I am scared that she will tell me that there is nothing else I can do to regain walking if I ask her if there is any hope.

i am glad to hear you are working wiyh a physio. Managing working together is not easy at the best of times. You may be worrying that she may be thinking she has done all she can for you and if you " rock the boat" she may just discharge you. My comment would be is that she knows you and your problem a lot better than I or anyone on an internet site can. It may be that you need to trust her enough just to be really frank (but polite of course) and have a good talk with her about these things and what is worrying you. Trust is very important. It might help to thi k about it from her point of view. Here you are - young guy with a very major movement problem that is rare. She knows a lot about physio for these problems generally but she may be struggling to know how this might apply in your case as she may have never seen someone with your disease. Who knows... She might be feeling frustrated that she isn't managing to help you more. She is only human so i suggest you have a good talk to her soon. Choose a time when she isn't too busy and just say what is on your mind.

[ADDABAD]

Hello all,
It is me, once again, asking for some help. It has been seven years now. I am strong, can move my legs, and even stand. But that is it. o balance. Does anyone know of any inpatient physical therapy clinics I could go to? You can reach me here: [email protected].