Can't help you with acupressure C, but it is possible to train your brain to use other neural pathways. My mom's neuro talks about focusing on the part you want to move and "talking to it" (this neuro is a hoot!). In PT, I'd work with a woman with dead legs (she had MS) as well as very weak trunk strength. We focused on rolling over If I'd initiate the motion, she could often pick it up once it had been started. By the end of the therapy that day, she could do it herself. Initiating the movement (with your own hands to move the leg) if necessary and then focusing on it/talking to it to finish the movement without assistance really does help to retrain the neural pathways around damaged areas. Won't be perfectly good as new, but it will make things easier.

Yes, Jan, I recognized your smile immediately. I feel the same way but I'm curious if anyone has ever actually noticed results. The poor girl knows nothing about MS and has some pie-in-the-sky healing ideas.

I might just go for some bee stings.

It's based on the points of acupuncture but uses pointed pressure rather than the traditional needles. This gal is a fantastic massage therapist and a big believer in the whole "healing arts/holistic" theme. I'll let her do it for fun and see if I can't get a little placebo effect if nothing else.

I'm absolutely convinced of it, Gretata, I have taught myself to do so many things just out of necessity, it's phenomenal what our minds are capable of doing when we enlist them. I haven't figured out a way to do vertical leg lifting and often resort to the nylon leg lifter.

Ahhhh, accupressure as opposed to accupuncture. I get it. ...Is this anything like Raque(sp)?

Let us know how it works for you, Cindy..

Hi Ya JAZZ!!!!

I was the office administrator for an outpatient PT practice for 9 years, and by the end of my working life I was getting terrible headaches (from the MS? Nah...probably stress!)

One of the therapists would come by and do a little search at the bottom of my neck/shoulder area and when he found what he was looking for he'd press. OUCH! I'd get a shooting pain up into my head, but I swear to you my headache was gone within 15 minutes!

I always humor those kind of people, Cin, because really...what do I know? Maybe what they want to do will work AND it's not going to cause any harm like a drug or something similar. (you'd think I wouldn't care about such things being disabled and all...but I do!)

Let me know if it works! I still know alot of PTs from my working days (and they'll find me a good massage therapist).

(P.S. Hi, Sally! Good to see you!)

I have not had accupressure, however, before I was diagnosed and having terrible pain (turns out to be the hug) I did go to an accupuncturist/MD. It worked as far as relieving the pain. Well, maybe it was just lots of good endorphins as I left there on a "high." They say that happens with accupuncture.

My sister sent me this great article on an MS care center in CT. They purchased a Lokomat to help MS patients with their gait. I don't know if there is a facility near you that has one but if it helps it would be worth checking in to.

Here is the manufacturers website: http://www.hocoma.ch/web/en/header/index.html

Let us know if the accupressure works.

if I remember correctly acupressure deals with applying a slight pressure to hot spots on the nerves, or pressure points. read about it yrs ago and have tried it off and on over the years

I have used this for years for my legs do to my back now I am trying it with this spascity, which isn't working so well, but have tried it in the past, and certain spots supposedly control certain areas of the body ear lobes and palm of hand for headaches, sometimes it works for me, sometimes it doesn't, but I can apply it to myself and that helps, just have to find those certain spots to apply the pressure to

found this if you go to bottom of page it had some info on a number of situations,http://www.geocities.com/jrh_iii/acupressure/

http://www.geocities.com/jrh_iii/acupressure/

if i messed up link theres the address too

Cindy - I personally have never had it but, I had a friend who did it - they called him the "pain doctor". He was a wonderful man and wonderful at what he did. I met him on one of those "match"ing websites - he was a great guy and we became wonderful friends just no attractions. He died of a massive heart attack while running at the local track. Heathly as a horse or so we thought....

Sorry, back to you question - he would do the pressure and cause serious pain to his patients. He specialized in athletics and patients with MS (he was the first person to tell me I had MS)
He said that his MS patients would come into his office with a walker or cane and walk out on their own.

Good Luck and keep us posted.

use the leg lifter to start, but then concentrate on completing the movement without it. You might suck at it at first and think you're not making any progress, but the more you do it, the better you will be able to do it. I can even improve my mom when I work with her and she's got complete and total dead legs. Unfortunately she won't keep up the work when I'm not there.

Cindy
I say try it. Ya never know and if so, teriffic. If not, cross it off the list. The mind is ever so powerful, if we just tap into it. Keep us posted.


I borrowed the book, The MS Recovery Diet from the MSAA last month, but had to return it before finishing it. It was just published in 2007. I never got to the diet part, but there is a whole section on exercise and getting people out of wheelchairs and walking. It's exercises that build on each other like a baby learns to roll over, crawl, stand up, and walk. It so grabbed my attention.

I plan to buy it when funds allow, just to have as a reference. Oh and to finish reading it too.

My sister gets those sessions for her IBS. She feels it has helped her greatly, and she wants me to try it for my various symptoms because her doc has had quite a few MS patients who apparently have greatly benefitted from the acupuncture treatments. I'm thinking about it.......