Can anyone comment if you have this similar situation.
My left leg is so spastic that it is hyper extended. On the other hand, My right leg
buckles a lot. If not for the spasticity of the left leg, I may not be able to stand. However,
if not for the "weakness" of the right leg, I may not be able to climb the staircase.

Nevertheless, my question is that how come both legs differ in terms of strength,
sensation, spasticity and muscle bulk. the right leg appears more thinner than
the left leg.

Anybody with similar situation?

Hi Benok,

I do know that its not uncommon to have a stronger side, especially if its your dominant hand's side ( a lot of research has gone into ABs who have a larger muscle mass on dominant side) However, it could also be due to the type of injury you have,.

For eg, Brown-Sequard Syndrome is an incomplete injury which often is damage to "half' the spinal cord. Its effects can range from Hemiplegia to experiencing a slight difference in motor function between sides of the body...and a whole host in between.
I have to point out that in BSS there is a very distinct pattern of loss of sensation on one side of the body with a loss of movement on the opposite side due to the way the cord is injured, so this may not explain your situation. Always good to look into though.

I hope this helps, Please check out the Brown-Sequard Syndrome section here at Apparelyzed and HERE I believe that One of the people featured in Murderball (Mark Zupan) has BSS.

Of course this is not the only cause of the symptoms/function you describe. There are other reasons including using one side of the body more than the other and so affecting the working muscles by the types of movements we make, the type of injury someone has and so on.


HTH,
K

Isn't it lovely to have kewlcatkez back to give explanations like this. You've just got to love it.

LOL..gotta love you Nomis..Flatterer can be added to your resumé!! :-) Thanks though, its good of you to say! Coming from a fountain of knowledge its a lovely compliment!

K

N omis I do agree with you. Welcome back K. You are a great help

Thanks for the advise kewl.

I was just wondering why each leg has his own characteristic and not both of them
act in the same way.... ...

I have the same issue but in reverse. My right leg is so much bigger than the left, to the degree that the right leg has a diameter of 19" and the left 17". That's a big difference and embarrassingly noticeable. When I put on any pair of pre-injury-owned pants, the left leg is baggy and the right is tight (Thank goodness for stretch in pants these days!) I tend to wear skirts and dresses to hide my unsymmetrical legs.

I inquired with my physiotherapist why this was and asked if it had anything to do with the fact that I was right handed. He said that at the point of my accident (I fell backwards 15 feet to the ground.), I most likely guarded my right side more and so there was greater damage to the left.

I have regained enough motor-function (although my right leg had a head-start of several months) to stand (if I am holding onto something) and walk with assistive devices (canes/crutches) but I am so imbalanced...and knock-over/fall quite easily. Don’t even blow on me. hehe.

I am doing a fair bit of work in a pool now (1 hour - 4x week) focusing on exercises only for the left leg. I also work on a leg press for the left leg only and have ankle weights I wear only on the left leg. I have made some gains but they are very small. It may just be that the damage to the nerves shooting down my left side is just too great and so my body may never fully restore function on the left side...although my left toes wiggle much better than the right. Who knows? Every SCI is just sooooo different.

hi city girl - is your right leg spastic? could you say that your left leg is flaccid?

hi city girl - is your right leg spastic? could you say that your left leg is flaccid?
[/quote]

No, my right leg is not spastic. I don't get spasms. My left leg is, indeed, flaccid. The mass of my left leg just hangs. BUT!!! As I mentioned I am working very hard to walk again without assistive devices. I just got home from the gym where I did a 2 km walk using my forearm crutches and 100 meters with one cane. I also did a half hour of weights and then another half hour of stretches. Then I did my pool work. 1000 left, straight, leg lifts (out to the side) and 1000 rear kicks (like a horse) with my left leg. AND, just today I have now discovered that I am able to stand without holding onto anything. I need to keep my feet planted and knees locked and move around a bit to maintain my balance, but I can do it. So I'm pretty happy about that right now.

how do you manage to keep the left leg from not buckling?
you have no AFO brace?

Anyway, it is nice to hear the progress you have done. A little more patience and you will be that mobile. In asmuch as I want to utilize my right leg (the weaker leg of mine) and how much mind over matter I put in it for the knee not to buckle, it does not happen that way. It involuntarily gives way...

I have similar situation. Left leg much weaker and thinner than right. No reason apart perhaps more nerve damage left side?

James Mackenzie

I don't know how I manage to keep the left knee braced voluntarily...but it does 'give' sometimes and, consequently, I've had several wipe-outs. Notwithstanding, I'm getting better at saving myself by depending upon my right leg and canes to rebalance. I did a lot of standing when I was in rehab. I tried to get into the standing frame for at least one hour every day (Mon-Fri because the gym was closed on the weekends). I bought a standing frame when I got home from rehab and used it every day for several hours (2-3) until I could stand just leaning on a counter or holding-on-to-something-for-dear-life. hehe.

My recovery has been SLOW, SLOW, SLOW...BUT, STEADY, STEADY, STEADY. I'm the tortoise. There is a gentleman I met in rehab (same age as me) who recovered from a 'ladder fall' with a similar injury and he had a full recovery. He went back to work at one year. He runs, plays hockey, and only feels some physical discomfort when sleeping. I am no where near him in my recovery but I continue to push, push, push. As I am an incomplete SCI, I sincerely believe that 'the body responds to increased demand' and I will keep demanding of my body.