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blossom wrote:hi dr. flanagan, i have a question and would like your input. for myself and i'm sure others especially those of us that are long term ms. i have muscle weakness - arms, legs, back bladder etc. so holding any adj. is gonna be a real challenge.
i had read about the electrical muscle stimulation that dr. wahl's "up from the wheelchair"uses on herself that has helped in her case. from other reads my understanding is that it helps build muscle strength not just motivate your muscles to respond or jump around.
do you feel that this would be a help? if so, would it be ok to "if possible" to do this while you are getting chiro. treatments. if this does no harm, then it could be a way for ones like me that traditional therapy is next to impossible to do,could gain some muscle strength. of course i know we can't just go and buy these things and start zapping ourself. we would want to try to hunt out a therapist that does this. another challenge!
Hello Blossom,
They are called transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulators or TENS units. I used many types of muscle stimulators in my office from Faradic to Russian and Interferential currents for stimulation. Muscle stimulation will not make weak muscles strong but it can relieve the spasms and knots caused by MS and muscle weaknesses. They are also good for pain. My patients rarely needed them because I had better and much stronger equipment which took care of the problem in the office. But I did have some small portable TENS units I would lend to patients when necessary, and sometimes I would order them for patients with chronic problems.
whyRwehere wrote:I am also interested in Blossom's question. We are very frustrated with the physiotherapy my husband receives, which seems to do nothing for him, and the physio's idea that electronic muscles stimulation "over tires the muscle." Can they not understand that some exercise of the muscle is required before the darn thing vanishes?!
We haven't gone to a upper cervical specialist yet, because we have no money to do so....eventually we will get there.
Hello whyrwehere,
Because of muscle weakness many MS patients have imbalances in muscles that cause wicked knots and spasms. Muscle stimulation improves blood flow and oxygenation of spastic muscles. It also relaxes muscles spasms and helps with pain. It doesn't tire muscles out at all.
MS_HOPE wrote:Dr. Flanagan, will you please give your opinion of the ProAdjuster tool used by some chiropractors? Would this be appropriate or effective for upper cervical care as you see it?
When I mentioned the possibility of chiropractic care to my naturopathic doctor, she highly recommended just one chiropractor in our area, who came from Switzerland and was actually an MD there (as is the custom for Swiss chiros?). He uses the ProAdjuster.
Also, I'd be much obliged if you know of a good upper cervical chiro in the Durham/Chapel Hill/Raleigh area of NC. Thank you!
Hello Ms Hope
The Pro Adjuster is far too new and gimmiky for me. I don't have any faith in it at all. It's not specific or appropriate when it comes to serious neurodegenertive conditions like MS.
I don't know these doctors but they both use Atlas Orthogonal which is a good method and they have many years of post graduate classes.
They are: Dr. John Boccella 919-518-1234, and Dr. Bill Macchi 919-845-2099. Both are located in Raleigh.
.
A friend gave me this link which came from her chiro friend who recommends it for some patients. Could you please visit the link and give me your opinion on the Denneroll? http://denneroll.com/ (please see edit at bottom of post).
Would this be worth a try in my case? I've taken much more radical, experimental, expensive, and toxic measures during my war on MS, and I've most definitely spent a heck of a lot more money than the cost of this pillow.
I just don't want to spend my money or waste my time on something of no value if so determined by a doctor I trust, and I most definitely trust you, Dr. Flanagan.
Thank you for your time!
~Pam
Edit: For some reason, I couldn't get the link to work until now -- sorry for any inconvenience.
Hi Dr. Flanagan,
I hope you don't mind if I ask this question again since I think it got lost in some posts a few pages back.
Could you please check my c-spine MRI and tell your opinion about it.
So far doctors (three) have been saying that it is unremarkable but at the same time in my paper it says:
" Normal cervical spinal cord with no intramedullary cord lesion.
C1-1; no subluxation, no spinal stenosis.
C2-3; mild disc bulging, no spinal stenosis
C3-4, C4-5, C5-6; disc bulging, no spinal stenosis
C6-7, C7-T1 no disc herniation, no spinal stenosis.
Normal cervical spinal cord.
Normal verterbal marrow.
Otherwise it is unremarkable"
Press the picture to see the slideshow of my C-spine
A friend gave me this link which came from her chiro friend who recommends it for some patients. Could you please visit the link and give me your opinion on the Denneroll? http://denneroll.com/ (please see edit at bottom of post).
Would this be worth a try in my case?
Hello Pam,
The Denneroll is simply a glorified cervical pillow. Cervical pillows have been around for decades in one form or another. I have never seen them correct misalignments or restore curves. What's more your curvature problems cover the entire spine not just the cervical spine and you have a head tilt to the right as I recall so lying on your back won't correct the head tilt or the rest of the spine. When you lie down it should be to relax the body and to rest or sleep. Pillows are important and should be chosen carefully first and foremost for comfort.
Could you please check my c-spine MRI and tell your opinion about it.
So far doctors (three) have been saying that it is unremarkable but at the same time in my paper it says:
" Normal cervical spinal cord with no intramedullary cord lesion.
C1-1; no subluxation, no spinal stenosis.
C2-3; mild disc bulging, no spinal stenosis
C3-4, C4-5, C5-6; disc bulging, no spinal stenosis
C6-7, C7-T1 no disc herniation, no spinal stenosis.
Normal cervical spinal cord.
Normal verterbal marrow.
Otherwise it is unremarkable"
Press the picture to see the slideshow of my C-spine
Hello Perkele,
Your cervical MRI is near perfect. You do have steep axial-clival angle to the base of your skull and you may have a short base as well but I can't see enough of the head to tell at this point.
MS_HOPE wrote:Dr. Flanagan, will you please give your opinion of the ProAdjuster tool used by some chiropractors? Would this be appropriate or effective for upper cervical care as you see it?
When I mentioned the possibility of chiropractic care to my naturopathic doctor, she highly recommended just one chiropractor in our area, who came from Switzerland and was actually an MD there (as is the custom for Swiss chiros?). He uses the ProAdjuster.
Also, I'd be much obliged if you know of a good upper cervical chiro in the Durham/Chapel Hill/Raleigh area of NC. Thank you!
Hello Ms Hope
The Pro Adjuster is far too new and gimmiky for me. I don't have any faith in it at all. It's not specific or appropriate when it comes to serious neurodegenertive conditions like MS.
I don't know these doctors but they both use Atlas Orthogonal which is a good method and they have many years of post graduate classes.
They are: Dr. John Boccella 919-518-1234, and Dr. Bill Macchi 919-845-2099. Both are located in Raleigh.
.
Ah, but everything was new once, wasn't it? But I appreciate your opinion, including caution and concern, and will proceed accordingly. Thanks very much, also, for the Raleigh names!
uprightdoc wrote:Hello Perkele,
Your cervical MRI is near perfect. You do have steep axial-clival angle to the base of your skull and you may have a short base as well but I can't see enough of the head to tell at this point.
What are your signs and symptoms?
Hey Doc,
At this moment I’m categorized CIS and I also have hyper mobility syndrome.
My main symptoms are growing loss of functions of my body (my limbs feel like rusty hinge, ataxia), chronic fatigue and cog fog (No changes in MRI two and half years, negative LP). I see heart beat in my eyes when I do even a little exercise although my blood pressure is normal. When I change position from prone to upright I feel like blood is not draining out of my head properly and I need to grab aid of furniture.
Ok so yesterday I went to a chiropractor for the first time in my life. I told him about my MS problems and said I just wanted to see if there was anything wrong with my spine or neck. He examined me and took some xrays. Today I went back for the followup. He showed me the xrays. They revealed that my spine has a curve to it. When viewed from behind the spine curves to the left about 1" near the middle of the spine and then back to the right at the head. Also the neck leans further forward than it should by about 2 ". He said he could make some adjustments that would help improve those things but he also added that it would only last for a short while and would need to be done again many times to have a more lasting effect. (I guess it's sort of like restenosis but requires many treatments instead of one or two.) Anyway he did the treatment and then sent in a massage therapist who used a vibrating device on my back for about ten minutes. Then I sat up on the edge of the table preparing to leave.
Now here comes the surprising part. Normally when I sit on a chair I can lift my right leg normally but the left will barely lift off the floor. So I decided to try it while I was sitting on the edge of the table. First I raised the right leg which lifted as expected. Then I tried the left and was astounded that it lifted about 6" off the floor! Wow. I went home and tried it again. It still worked although the effect was starting to wear off. About 1 hour after the treatment it was back to not lifting at all. So just as he said the effect did not last long. But what this showed me is that the function is still there. It is just being blocked. Of course I scheduled a second adjustment for Friday.
uprightdoc wrote:Hello Perkele,
Your cervical MRI is near perfect. You do have steep axial-clival angle to the base of your skull and you may have a short base as well but I can't see enough of the head to tell at this point.
What are your signs and symptoms?
Hey Doc,
At this moment I’m categorized CIS and I also have hyper mobility syndrome.
My main symptoms are growing loss of functions of my body (my limbs feel like rusty hinge, ataxia), chronic fatigue and cog fog (No changes in MRI two and half years, negative LP). I see heart beat in my eyes when I do even a little exercise although my blood pressure is normal. When I change position from prone to upright I feel like blood is not draining out of my head properly and I need to grab aid of furniture.
Perkele,
Again, the lateral veiw of your brain is near perfect. On the other hand, you have hypermobility syndrome and you appear to have a short steep base in the cranial vault. You may have an Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) POTS type variation of MS.
Do you have any abnormal curvatures in the spine that you are aware of? Do you have any lesions in the brain?
O.k. so i'm not tech savy. How does one post their xrays in a post on this site? I understand about taking a photo with your cell phone when your doctor displays them on his view box and downloading those to your computer, but then what? I appreciate technology but at the same time yearn for simpler times. If not for the advances in technology we would still be hopping down the autoimmunity bunny trail. I appreiate cell phones but it's like I told my friend this morning we have communication that's a mile wide and an inch deep IMHO. Liten to the soundtrack of the Ken Burns Civil War series that was on PBS several years ago especially the track where the letter by Sullivan Balleu written to his wife is being read. Touching. Any help or advice would be appreciated. Responders can either post here or send me a PM. Maybe this isn't the spot to post this, but thought I would ask.
