Occupational Therapy

In my experience, the first person that I was referred to by my neurologist was an occupational therapist (“OT”), who was very well-versed in the rehabilitation of patients with “vestibular disorders.”  What type of therapist is that and what the heck is a “vestibular disorder”?

Wikipedia defines an OT as someone who helps “people of all ages to improve their ability to perform tasks in their daily living and working environments. They work with individuals who have conditions that are mentally, physically, developmentally, socially or emotionally disabling.” Occupational therapist, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Occupational_therapist&oldid=313102563 (last visited Oct. 30, 2009).

Now, the Vestibular System is the system in the brain that tells the body how much force you must use to counteract the gravitational pull of the Earth.  Huh? What?

So someone like Michael Jordan, for instance, most likely from repeated dunks, became excellent at applying the right amount of force needed to make his spectacular moves.

In my case, my system went out of whack (that’s a medical term, you know ) and I have spent the last few years having to basically start from scratch regarding my balance.

You have seen how kids crawl and then walk and then run?.  That is all part of the learning process for the Vestibular system.

The catch is that it is a lot easier to build as a baby than an adult. You can relearn much of what you have lost, but just think about it. I have to relearn 41 years of moving. It’s a lot of work!

The good news is that I wrestled in high school, worked out for 20 years and have always had a weird interest in body mechanics (I am a bit of a nerd).

Anyway, I consider my OT, the woman that gave me my life back.  Before working with her I could not walk three steps in a straight line.

I recently saw a statistic that said that 65% of people with MS have balance disorders.  It is a very common symptom!

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