For a few years now my right leg won’t bend when I’m walking. I also have drop foot on my right side which a SAFO helps to combat. Over the years, I’ve developed a walk, with crutches, on the right leg going out and then coming back in before I plant my foot. Over the last year or so, the right knee has become very painful. The knee improved dramatically recently when I was confined to a wheelchair. I’m still. In the wheelchair most of the time but my improvement has resulted in increased walking, but increased pain in the knee. X-rays revealed there was nothing wrong with the knee and I’m currently waiting for a MRI scan on the knee.
after that long winded intro, my question to the group is, does anyone else have this walking style, ie straight knee with the out and in movement.
thanks for the prompt response. I’ve had numerous sessions with more than one physio, including the local neuro-physio and whilst they have suggested a number of things, with mixed success, nothing that I have tried has successfully solved the lack of knee-bend and the out and in walking.
whilst seated the knee can will bend happily. When I occasionally walk down stairs, the knee bends. However, there’s no knee bend at all with normal walking.
Although the primary target is the perineal nerve that makes the toes pick up, it’s also possible to get a dual unit to stimulate the knee too. Plus, even with a single unit, there seems to be some corresponding ‘encouragement’ for the knee.
My right leg is rubbish too, I have foot drop, plus the knee often won’t bend and I also end up with right hip pain because of the problems further down the leg. I only do a titchy bit of walking these days with the FES on and a walker. I’ve got a SAFO but it doesn’t really work for me because my knee needs encouragement and I can’t do the swinging out thing that you describe.
The big problem with the FES of course, is the postcode lottery, if you’re in the ‘wrong’ area, then you just can’t get it funded by the NHS. But it’s worth asking your physio whether your CCG will fund it, or if you live close enough to London (and can face it), you can be referred to the National Hospital for Neurology in Queens Square. You can get FES from there even if your CCG won’t pay! It’s a crappy system.
I have exactly this problem too - on the right side as well. As Sue mentioned FES can help lift the toes, my physio tried to use a second simulator to help bend the knee but tbh it didn’t work for me. So whilst I don’t walk far, and when I do its with a FES and a rollator I have to hitch my right leg up which hurts the hip.
I’m doing lunge exercises and trying to build greater strength in the hamstrings but so far nothing is really encouraging the knee to lift and bend. Sorry i don’t have a magic cure but the FES certainly helps with the foot drop.
Thanks for the replies. I’ve tried the FES on 2 different occasions. Unfortunately it didn’t help at all. The SAFO thankfully helps with the foot drop though.
All sounds very familiar. I also had the same gait problems and drop foot and started to get pain in the knee. After 2 years of it, I finally managed to get an MRI (that’s a whole o†her story) and it turned out to be medial ligament damage. After 2 arthroscopies, it’s much improved.
I saw an orthopaedic surgeon last week and he mentioned the possibility of medial ligament damage but needs to see the result of the MRI to be sure of this. Not sure how quickly the MRI scan will be done though.
I think medial ligament problems are fairly common with people with our type of mobility issue
MRI scans cab be a bit of a lottery. I have had 5 over the years and the waiting times have ranged from 3 moths down to 2 weeks. It all boils down to what facilities are in your area and how many people are in the queue.
I think (just for once) that we have identical right legs!! And we probably incurr the same injuries to right hips for the same reasons. My physio has been trying to make my right leg do the correct thing with clam exercises, to little avail. Still walk about 10 metres a few times a day with FES and rollator.
So often I feel vaguely guilty that I haven’t ‘pushed’ myself enough. But every time I try to do more I end up with a) knackered legs and b) very painful right hip. So I end up doing less for a couple of days. And round and round I go.
maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, until I get the MRI, but if the way I walk is actually causing the medial ligament problem then surely any surgery would only be a short term fix as the surgery wouldn’t alter my walking style and I would experience the same problem medial ligament in the future.
I just gave you an example of what happened to me, your situation may be totally different but, if it is a similar situation in which your gait is causing the injury, then there are things that can be done to correct it.
Next Saturday will be 1 year since my 2nd arthroscopy. One thing I’ve had since then that I didn’t have between the 1st & 2nd was regular physiotherapy. Within 3 months of having the 1st, the pain was back and worse than ever. A year after the 2nd and things are still much improved.
So no, the surgery wouldn’t alter your walking style but there are other ways that can.
i have developed a walk where i use my right leg as a crutch and propel myself with my left .
it happened over years and before Dx
I farm , and out in the fields alone , i have an exaggerated walk where i really lift my knee to avoid tripping , though in town walking i try to look as normal as possible and dont lift my knee as much.
It’s then i find my foot drop is a problem and i throw my right leg out slightly in a circular motion to compensate, and if i’m on a night out doormen / bartenders often refuse me as i walk " drunk ".
Its not that my knee wont bend , its bending and straightening normally that’s a problem.
Driving my right leg to constantly in a ‘knee out’ position.
One other thing that has just occurred to me. I’ve been walking with crutches for 3 years but I took delivery of my 1st rollator last Thursday and what a difference that has made. No more hunching forward, no more swaying from side to side to try to maintain balance. Should really help to reduce the risk of future muscle/ligament problems.
I too thought that a rollator would help me. The physio tried me with a rollator last year. It didn’t work for me as I kept kicking the back right wheel with my right foot. Every time I took a step with my right leg, the leg went “out” as normal and didn’t come in quick enough or far enough for me to avoid kicking the wheel with the right foot.
Hi what you describe is known as a stiff legged gait and I have that too. It is caused by a combination of weakness and spasticity. For knee flexion you need to be able to relax your quads when your hamstrings contract, Stretch your quads to help with the spasticity and try baclofen etc.