I think my stride is wider than before and my feet feel unsure of themselves. I guess it is a balance problem. The doctor has me stand and close my eyes and I can feel myself swaying somewhat...
Cathie

That's good info from Liza Jane. The wider your base of support, the more stable you are, so it can be good to walk with wide legs if your balance is bad, like she said. Also, when you turn your feet out, it makes your knees more stable, so this helps people who have some weakness or even sensory loss in their knees. You can "pretty up" your gait if you use a walker, because then the walker provides you with the extra stability. But most people don't want to fool with one unless they have to.

This helped me understand what is going on. Today I start Physical Therapy for strengthening exercises and hopefully a little electric stim to ease some of the pain. I'll be working on balance and core body strength. All painful areas for me, but I'm ready. I've had to be patient and wait for weeks now. They wanted me to get to 12 weeks in healing from the sacrum fractures before they started the pt. Now if we can just do this without cracking anything again. Wish me luck.

Billye

Since now I have issues in both legs I am really focusing on proper walking. I used to put the pressure on the good leg and that put too much stress. Even at the clinic for people with back or other issues we try to protect the bad part to not only create other issues. I have been really self talking even walking. I try to say to myself that though it hurts now trying to walk properly not doing it that way makes other issues happen.
Silverlady good luck. When I was at pt at the clinic I didn't realise how many things I did in a wrong way. Even how I picked up things. It takes practice.

I don't know how much of my secondary problem is due to core instability, but I know that a good deal of it is. Many of my core muscles just wouldn't work as a result of the damage, and since I didn't have physical therapy much secondary imbalance of mucles and additional instability eventually developed.

I just found a wonderful book. Even if a person can't do a lot of what it suggests, just knowing more about the body works helps work around things that can't be improved (without causing unnecessary extra damage), improve what can be improved, and recognize bad habits, damaging coping mechanisms, and myths that are damaging (for instance, stretching before warming up ).

Framework, by Nicholas A. DiNubile.

Good read too.

rose

Just the name of that book sounds good! Another great type of exercise for core stabilizers are the ball exercises -- the ones that use a great big ball that you sit on. Only, make sure you are stable enough not to fall off the ball! Or have someone spot you. There are video tapes of them, but you have to scale the exercises down to your level. Rose, as you describe you situation and stage of recovery, you sound like such an excellent candidate for physical therapy! Is that not available to you, or is that something that you do not want to do? I hope the question is not too personal.

They bent me in every possible angle, poked and prodded, made me hold muscle positions and grunt while they measured the muscle strength. Then the young fellow complimented me on my medical knowledge and told me I should have been a nurse/doctor, etc. Asked me how I knew so much. I told him 4 years of intensive reseach, reading, reading and more reading looking for what was causing me so much pain. And then educating my doctors once I figured it out. He asked me, "Did the doctors take your word for what you had figured out?" I told him that they were still sceptical until I went to Mayo Clinic and they agreed with me.

They have decided to put me in their water therapy. This is a one-on-one therapy working in the water with weights and exercises. It will put less stress on my joints. The pool is heated. Pure bliss. I've got 4 weeks 3 x a week of this to do and then it will probably be extended. After the pool we will work on balance and strength exercises and hopefully I'll be able to climb up and down the little set of stairs they have too. I'd so like to be able to see my upstairs studio again. We've moved all my supplies and tools downstairs behind my chair in the breakfast room. Maybe I'll be able to work upstairs again soon.

This morning I was so sore and I haven't even started the exercises yet! The therapist described my walk to me. He told me I'm walking like Liza Jane described. I walk like a duck and list to the left side even throwing in an extra step on the left side ever now and then to compensate for the balance issues. I want to change this. So if you don't hear from me much, I'm really busy. I will check in and read, but may not have much time to post.

Billye

Good luck. I'm sorry your sore but I try to remind myself in the long run it will hopefully help. The pool therapy I'm looking back into too and really I did hear how it helps with balance and pain. The key is the heat for me in the pool cause if too cold its not a pleasure. My gramps has been doing pool therapy for his balance and has seen such results. Like I said I'm changing my walk to more proper and it takes such constant self talk and feels awkward. Well good luck and I hope you see your upstairs soon. Its a great goal!

Will be sending lots of good thoughts your way - I certainly hope the therapy can help - but I'm sure will be understandably exhausting... take it easy as you can in between therapy sessions and be sure to let us know how you are doing

Silverlady --

This thread has been sooooo useful to me.

I thought I walked that way because I'm fat. (I am fat, though I've lost ten inches around my waist since I've been very careful not to overdo or hurt myself so I can keep walking around my garden. Less than 5 minutes a day is what's made the difference... so I really take issue with Oprah when she says we have to exercise for an hour a day... was that what she said? half an hour a day? I don't remember, except that it was way beyond what I could do.

Also, I'm so grateful to all those who described how they walk -- it took me soooo long to "get" that a "wide" step was not a very long one. I take such small steps that I was thinking they aren't "wide."

But now I realize that I keep my feet much further apart than I used to.

It just bums me out to no end that there's so much stress.

I get sooooo much better, then stress hits and I lose so much of the ground that I've gained.

Well, thank you again for a Wonderfully helpful thread!!!!!!