Reply To: Will physical therapy still help?

I don’t know whether physical therapy would have anything to do with you pain. Its purpose is to rebuild weakened muscles and restore balance. Nerve healing, however, proceeds at its own rate and physical therapy does not speed it up. Over time, the rate of improvement generally slows down. In my case, recovery of strength and balance proceeded fairly quickly for about six months, but was slowing down. By that time, I could walk fairly well with a cane, and indoors without one, so I decided to stop physical therapy (with my neurologist’s approval). After that, I just did simple exercises at home and got out and walked as much as I could, and I have continued to improve slowly for about two years now.

Ask your neurologist whether you need physical therapy. He or she is in the best position to know. Outside of physical therapy, it’s important to pace yourself. You should get exercize every day, but should not work yourself to exhaustion. Over time, you will be able to do more.