What Daily Movement is Like for Me

Movement is part of every moment of my daily routine! From the minute I turn off my alarm, here is what movement looks like for me.

My movement routine

Morning

• Slide out of bed
• Duck-walk to the john, pee, wash hands, brush teeth, wash hands again
• Back to the bedroom to get dressed, then. . .

From the bedroom to the kitchen

• Straight shot to the kitchen to switch on my electric kettle, perch my coffee pour-over with Sumatra coffee atop my fave coffee mug, pour boiling water over it. Grab a clementine orange, a Granny Smith apple, a banana, and a bottle of chilled water from the fridge, then:
• To my office annex in the living room to start playing the Mozart Requiem DVD, fire up my computer, and start moderating this site, or compose an article for an hour or two
• I jump up every 30 minutes to stretch my legs by puttering in the kitchen, using the john, walking down the hall to check my mail, taking out the garbage. Anything I can do at home to keep me from sitting for long periods

Later in the day

Cooking, power walking, and other activities

• I cook dinner and eat at 3 or 4 every day, after which,
• I power walk for 30 minutes, 5 days a week.
• Tidy up, then walk down the hall to chat with my neighbors
• Shower in the early evening, groom, and dress in my lounging/night wear
• Do my nails. This can involve polish and sticker art, applying fake nails, or maintenance
• Pedicure. Filing my rough heels, shaping nails, and moisturizing

Nighttime

Stretching and getting ready for bed

• From 9-bedtime, I elevate my legs in the recliner, talk to my boyfriend on the phone, sip two brandies, and play fish solitaire on my phone
• *As needed, 9-bedtime can also involve applying a heating pad, self-massage, and a TENS unit on one or both thighs. Spastic quads and hamstrings can be so painful!
• In my adjustable bed, I raise my legs and head in the zero-gravity position, taking the pressure off those stiff, spastic leg muscles. The massage feature further relaxes legs, back, neck, and shoulders.

What helps me move

I am very fortunate to have the energy, drive, and strength to maintain this level of constant activity. It wasn’t always this way!

Years ago, my legs were much weaker and my fatigue level was much higher. What changed it? Medications and physical therapy. Neuroplasticity likely played a part in it as well.

I started taking Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) and Ampyra (dalfampridine) in 2013. Tecfidera is an oral therapy for RRMS. Ampyra is sometimes called “the walking drug,” as it is meant to help improve walking with MS. In my experience, I not only walk farther, my legs are also stronger. I can stay on my feet for much longer periods without needing to sit and rest.

Pushing through activities

Gone are the days when I would grocery shop, hang onto the cart for dear life, and have to sit on the edge of the dairy case to rest halfway through shopping. After I was done shopping, I had to rest at regular intervals between unloading the cart at check-out, loading the groceries into my car, bringing them into my apartment, and putting them away. It took hours! Then I was toast for the rest of the day.

But, no more. For years now, I can push through shopping, check-out, loading and unloading the car, and putting away my groceries without resting at all!

What’s more, that newfound energy and strength carry me through exercising and beyond. It doesn’t incapacitate me. Power walking energizes me and is a great stress reliever besides.

Physical therapy benefited me

I tend to accumulate and store emotional stress. Moving my body for an extended period, say, for 30 minutes, quiets my negative thought loops and tightens my core muscles, which also improves my posture. It is mostly automatic. My mind and body have what I’m going to call muscle memory. Here’s why.

I had 2 solid months of physical therapy 7 months ago, during summer 2023. It involved chair exercises. Stand up, sit down, 10 reps. Then do it with free weights resting on each shoulder. I balanced up to 12 lb. weights per shoulder, for a total of 24 lbs! Next, sit with free weights on each shoulder and press them up and down, 10 reps.

Now, I do these at home once in a blue moon, but with only 3-lb weights on each side. It doesn’t seem to matter. My biceps are still popping out, and my strength and form return almost immediately. Muscle memory! On top of that, I’m still strong from last summer, too. Double muscle memory!!

Helping my balance

Another part of PT last summer that I still benefit from is walking in a straight line, then suddenly pivoting 180 degrees and stopping. Quite a challenge for my balance issues! And yet, by the end, I wasn’t falling off-balance and grabbing for my PT’s arm to steady myself.

There is so much more I can chronicle about movement. There’s “an app” for just about everything!

If you can, ask your doctor about doing physical therapy. Being evaluated by a professional and having a program tailor-made for YOU may have benefits.