“Walking”

 I sometimes use the indego (endahgo) for walking. It’s a giant frame that you walk inside of. You’re wearing a harness so you can’t fall. The indego has handles so you can hold on. It’s great because you’re standing and you literally can’t fall. It was on that that I realized I have a tendency to have my arms behind my body when I walk. It’s not an easy fix by any means, but it did make it clear that I need to be aware of my tendency to let my arms go behind my body. 

I love when I get to use the indego. It makes me feel the closest to how I used to be. It’s also electric so it rolls with you and there have been times that the speed it’s moving at trips me up. It’s not super fast or anything. The speed it goes at is adjustable and completely controlled by the therapist.

Movement aides are totally legit. I’m also ridiculously curious so I’ll ask what something does even if I don’t use it. One time in OT I was curious to know what the point of a machine was. My therapist put me on it just so I could see what it does. There’s so much stuff that we don’t know exists to help people recover from various ailments. People are willing to explain why things are a certain way. Because of my experiences I know a lot more about physical and occupational therapy than the average Joe. Much respect to those physical and occupational therapists. They have to be highly well informed to be able to do a good job.