Question: What causes walking difficulty in Multiple Sclerosis?
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Difficulty with walking in Multiple Sclerosis can result from plaques in different places in the brain stem and spinal cord The location of the plaques determines in large part whether that difficulty is due to the particular problems of weakness loss of sensation or in coordination of the legs In certain places in the brain and spinal cord plaques can produce weakness those in the back part of the spinal cord cause certain kinds of sensation loss position sense others in the cerebellum and its connections lead to in coordination in the legs Any or all of these disturbances can contribute to gait difficulty The most common problem that causes difficulty in walking is weakness When a patient complains of weakness he or she is often describing one of several different problems Muscle weakness in nervous system disease is often the result of messages not getting to the muscles from the brain and spinal cord A signal or message may begin in the brain the precentral or motor area of the brain but it has to travel to neurons located in the spinal cord perhaps up to 3 feet away The signal travels down a small part of the spinal cord called the pyramidal tract One or more Multiple Sclerosis plaques along the way may prevent part or all of that message from getting to the neuron resulting in weakness and difficulty standing and walking The larger the plaque ... View full answer

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