People who are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) are faced with myriad challenges that may involve impairments in movement and muscle strength, balance and coordination, speech and other neurological functions. It’s a tragic affliction for which a cure remains elusive, but in the meantime there are remarkable technological innovations that allow patients to reclaim abilities and permit the reclaiming of a more normal life in spite of the setbacks.
One of the symptoms of MS is foot drop, which as the term suggests is characterized by an increased difficulty in lifting the foot and ankle to permit normal walking. Foot drop is described as a very important diagnostic tool, often showing up early in those with the condition and which provides a critical clue that may lead to a diagnosis of MS.
As we learn from Newport News, Virginia’s Daily Press, one local woman has been able to reclaim mobility thanks to an innovative wireless device. Yorktown resident Barbara Kephart is 10 years beyond her diagnosis, and for the last year has largely been bedridden save for getting around by scooter as her means of mobility. Today however finds Kephart having successfully completed a regimen of physical therapy and exhibiting the ability to shred the treadmill at an impressive and steady pace.
Her remarkable turnaround in overcoming foot drop so advanced that it took away her ability to walk safely and comfortably is thanks to the NESS L300 wireless device manufactured by California-based Bioness, Inc.
As explained on the company’s website, a trio of components work in concert to deliver an electrical stimulation to the leg muscles responsible for movement and coordination: a cuff worn below the knee contains electrodes that deliver a light, stimulating electrical charge; a sensor on the shoe tells the cuff if the foot is elevated or on the ground, indicating when to deliver and cease the stimulation; and a hand-held controller allows the patient to adjust the level of electrical stimulation required.
Kephart, we learn from the Daily Press, is a military wife and the mother of two. She was able to give the NESS L300 a month-long trial spin for a fee of $500, but saw results so astonishing and immediate that, as she told the Daily Press, she “pretty much knew she was going to buy it after the first day.”
Kephart adds “I’ve got my body back. I can do everything now.”
Photo by tnarik via Flickr.