Are wobbly legs with PN caused by muscle weakness or fear?

My neuro tells me that when you lose sensory nerves in your feet your eyes compensate so you can still walk as long as you can see. I am never sure where my feet are with SfN and that makes me anxious when walking in unknown territory or dimly lit places...This could be similar to what you are experiencing .

That matches what I experience. With the seasons changing and the early morning hours retreating into wintertime darkness, I have a chancier time going down our front walk to retrieve the morning paper –– or I should say, most mornings: first LOCATE :-), then retrieve the morning paper. Your post struck a chord!

I went through a phase with depth perception being a problem and I would fall. Also over different surfaces blending from one to another. I now use a cane and feel much more confident and haven’t fallen since. For stairs I can go up them. If no hand rail use my cane or wall. Going down is harder but my cane really helps. Use elevators if available. Good luck to you

I had surgery to repair my C3-7 disks. Prior to my surgery, my leg muscles weren’t receiving nerve impulses to contract from my cervical spine, so they atrophied and I fell often. Now after surgery, I receive PT to rebuild my muscles. It’s slow going but I’m making progress.

I have had PN in my feet for 17 years now due to back injury. It is slowly moving into my lower legs. I find that hiking in easy to moderate terrain is possible by simply using 2 ski poles (or walking poles). The importance of this is that allows you to MOVE those muscles and walk normally while being safe due to the stablization that the poles provide. I can hike for more than an hour and afterward feel like my legs are more stable. It teaches your brain to drive those muscles correctly, even though the connection through the nerves is weak. The connections do get stronger with use to some extent. Hiking is far more interesting than PT so it is easier to do it for long periods. If you have a dog, bring it along. They love it.

I haven't tried hiking yet, but something I've noticed is that, if I've been sitting for a spell, even as few as 20 minutes, and find I'm wobbly on getting up, what's best for me is to keep walking, even if just around the house. It may be, as you say, walking – or hiking – reminds your muscles to engage appropriately. I've found that, if I rise to discover I'm wobbly and instead just plop back down, the wobbliness is even worse when later I do have to stand and move about.

he is an uneducated ahole. muscles shrink from lack of rich oxygen blood. yes, your legs are week. i would look into a shake plate or vibration plate that will help you build back some muscle to help your balance. i have been to may o and three other neurologists they all gaslite me. neurologist have no idea what to do and have less interest of going down a rabbit hole to find the Root cause to solve your issues. rather potions and pills, combined with laziness.

ooT