Cathy Classics by Cathy Guisewite for February 20, 2012

lightenup re: exercise and HMSN, basketball and soccer are mostly okay, but the muscles get tired fairly quickly. That in turn puts stress on the nerves and surrounding muscles. Kinda like taking a supporting beam out from under what it’s holding up. Everything around it comes down too. Physical therapy is just plain boring so I don’t do it. I get more than enough strength training, which is also mostly okay for CMT, on the job.

But walking long distance on a treadmill or an elliptical machine, bench pressing arms or legs, etc just wears the muscles down instead of firming them up. Nerves feed the muscles. When they die, the muscle dies. Part of my calf muscle in my left leg is dead. When Billy and I walk down the street at his normal walking pace, he leaves me in the dust over the span of just 7 minutes, down from 19 minutes in 2007 when I had my first major mobility issue. So, the more I walk or use my muscles, the tireder they get. Custom MAFOs (molded ankle/foot orthotics) keep me steady when I’m walking. At work I wear only ankle braces when I’m on an EMS run, otherwise I have to wear the full leg braces. My mom knew when I was just under a year old that she had given me her (what she thought was) MS.

Here’s a couple words for KFG: EMG and nerve conduction study. I have those tomorrow too, in addition to a 3+ hour MRI (looking for my soul) and EEG (um, no comments from the peanut gallery).