Diagnosed in 2004
Stay in Control With Mobility Aids
Coming to Terms With Changes in Mobility
The Find Doctors & Resources tool can help you find wheelchairs, scooters and other mobility aids. Search under the category “Medical and Assistance Equipment.”
Benefits of Using a Mobility Aid With Multiple Sclerosis
- Mobility devices promote independence. They can allow you to go places without having to rely on others. For instance, they can make shopping trips easier. Visits to a museum or zoo can be a pleasure instead of a trial. When out with friends or family, you can keep pace with everyone else and share laughter and conversation.A mobility aid might also expand your options for staying active. It might make a new sport possible or reopen the door to an old favorite. People who use scooters and wheelchairs bowl, fish, and play sports like golf, tennis and basketball.
- You may resist using mobility aids for fear you will become dependent on them. You may think once you sit down, you will never get up again. And sometimes well-meaning family members or friends insist that you can still walk and don’t need a mobility aid yet. This is a distorted view of the reality of MS fatigue. Struggling to walk can use precious energy.People living with MS use mobility aids to get themselves where they want to go while saving enough energy to be productive — and enjoy themselves — once they get there. A person might use nothing at all on some days, but go with a walker when feeling more fatigued.
- You might choose to walk without an aid so others won’t stare, feel sorry for you or think less of you. You might accept a cane but resist a walker or crutches. You might even stay home rather than be seen in a scooter or wheelchair. In other words, you might be concerned about being stigmatized or labeled.Mobility aids often help people look less disabled. A person having a hard time walking may look intoxicated. A person using a cane looks purposeful. They may even give off an aura of confidence. A person sitting comfortably in a power chair arrives looking — and feeling — in control.
