For people with MS there is good news, as a breakthrough in medical technology can help them have a higher quality of life, as proved by a woman from Deal, UK.

Foot-drop, condition caused by multiple sclerosis made Sally Sullivan lose her confidence in her ability to walk out of the house by herself, due to the feelings of instability and loss of balance drop foot causes.

Now, after years of confinement in her own house, a device that helps her walk properly was invented.

A simply piece of equipment, similar to an athletic knee-support has eased her suffering, and seems to be destined to bring hope to thousands of MS sufferers all around the globe.

Sullivan, who’s now 57 was diagnosed with MS over25 years ago, and slowly, but mercilessly seen how her independence diminished more and more.  Her MS triggered foot-drop in her right leg, which translates in an inability to lift her toes and foot off the ground when walking. 

Tens of thousands of people are affected by foot-drop each year, after being diagnosed with MS.

For Sally Sullivan, foot-drop meant that she could no longer walk more than half-a-mile from her house alone, because she was feeling insecure in her ability to walk, and she became worried of not hurting herself – especially as this happened of several occasions for her, and she experienced feelings of embarrassment and helplessness, besides pain.

Hope seemed to knock on her door one day though, as when she lived in Thailand, she found out about a new technology that could enable people who suffer from foot drop to walk again, due to its ability to retain the muscles of the leg.

Basically, this is a Functional Electrical Stimulation, which uses electrical signals and sends them via electrodes throughout the body, in order to stimulate the movement of paralysis affected muscles.
It took several devices until Sally found one that was right for her, as most of them implied wires and electrodes, which made them very uncomfortable and difficult to put on. 

The device that she was looking for proved to be NESS L300, developed by Bioness, in Thailand. This device has no wires, and the electrodes are fitted in a very small and lightweight leg-cuff below the knee, which makes it very easy to wear – and to find the correct position. The NESS L300 also features a wireless gait-senor that adjust to “real-time” changes in walking patterns, which is very useful when the person who wears it walks on uneven surfaces or slopes. 

Today, Sally is enjoying her new regained freedom each and every day. As she said : “I feel completely liberated. Today I walked one-and-a-half miles across town and back. I would never have dreamed of doing that before.  […]What is truly incredible is that when I turn on the device, all I can feel is a painless vibration in my leg. It has given me back my independence.”