Now that I have a car that I can actually drive I’ve been able to get back to my normal appointments. Thank god! So last week I went back to physio (and again yesterday actually) which I enjoy immensely and which is extremely important and good for me.

The MS Centre gym has some very good, very expensive, equipment which I make full use of. No point going there and doing boring, shit exercises that I can do at home! My usual routine starts with 15 minutes in the Easy Stand. It’s weird to think of just standing as an exercise but it’s actually really important because it engages a multitude of muscle groups, creates weight-bearing which works wonders for spasticity and it’s actually very relieving for aches and pains brought on by sitting for long periods. The Easy Stand is a huge bit of kit that costs around £7.5k – not something that most can afford, not with all the other crap we have to pay for, and definitely not something you can just have knocking about in your lounge unless you live in a mansion. Which I do not. So that starts me off by aligning my body, engaging my muscles and it feels really good. It also acts almost like an elliptical so you can get some movement incorporated too. Not to mention it gives me a chance to catch up with my physiotherapist on the previous week (or in last weeks’ instance, the previous 6 fucking months!).

Then we move onto the Therabike, which is my favourite. A Therabike is an electronically assisted static bike which allows “Motor-driven passive, assisted and active cycling for legs and upper body.” So for those whom have no functional ability in their legs it can do all the work for you which can help stimulate body functions, like improving circulation, and alleviate spasticity and pain. For people like myself with limitations on their movement it just “helps” a little bit and allows me to exercise strength, endurance and mobility and improve coordination. My personal settings require me to do 96% of the work with resistance set at level 2 and speed set at 36kph. Plus it feels good to do ACTUAL exercise, not the boring, slow-arse shit that “at home workouts” have you do. One of the interesting features is the visual display as it measures and shows the load bearing of your legs individually so you can actively try and make sure you are doing equal work on each side – this week I ended up on 51% right leg and 49% left leg. Not a surprise as my right side is a damn site more functional than my left. So I can work on that 1% difference next time. It also tells you how many calories you’ve burned which is great as I can’t exactly go for a run to burn off any naughty treats I might have 🤣

The Therabike I use also has an arm cycle function so I always finish up with 10 minutes on that. Great for a cardiovascular workout and arm function and strength. I’d love to have one at home but the £3k price tag and, again, lack of space make it an unlikely prospect.

Last week we also spent some time at the parallel bars to investigate my feet. My feet are very flat and my ankles extremely pronated which is both painful and very debilitating, throwing my knees and hips out of alignment. Not to mention unsightly! Apparently, according to my physio, I am “biomechanically interesting” which I’m not sure is a compliment, you know..?

The physiotherapists at the Centre are fantastic, as is the gym. It’s a resource that is very well utilised and rightly so. It’s something the NHS used to provide but cuts meant that service is only now available to those who are likely to get better – stroke, spinal cord injury and brain tumour sufferers. Sadly the shortsightedness of those that make the money decisions actually costs the NHS more money in the long run. If we could stay on our feet for longer, which physiotherapy is proven to help with, the need to provide mobility aids like wheelchairs (which are bloody expensive!) would lessen and fewer people would have to give up work thus reducing National Insurance and tax contributions…anyway, I digress as usual 🙄 I am extremely glad to be back doing weekly physio, thank goodness for my car!!