The MS Walking Workbook: 8 Physical Therapy Exercises for Foot Drop, Strength & Stability

This workbook is for people living with multiple sclerosis who have noticed that walking feels different. Maybe your toes catch on rugs or stairs. Maybe your legs feel heavier when you're tired, or a walk that was easy last month now takes real effort. Many people with MS don't realize these are patterns with specific causes, and that means they don't know which exercises to do. Inside, you'll work through eight short exercises. Each one gives you a prompt to answer, an explanation of why it matters, a filled-in example, and the common mistakes to avoid. You'll check your shoes for scuff marks to find out whether foot drop may be part of your walking. You'll learn why knee bending, ankle lifting and hip lifting are the three movements MS tends to affect most, and how to build a simple routine around them. You'll also work through a stair strategy, a plan for numbness and tightness, a way to pace fatigue with intervals, and a plan for deciding when braces, stimulation devices or mobility aids can help you stay active. When you finish, you'll have a written, personalized plan. It will cover what to strengthen, what to stretch, what to use for support, and how to track change over time. Dr. Gretchen Hawley is a physical therapist who specializes in MS. She has worked with more than 1,200 clients in 38 countries. The guidance here comes from the same approach she uses in her practice and shares on Instagram. It does not replace an individual evaluation, and you should check with your own care team before starting a new program.