Hi all,
I'm wondering wether anyone knows if when I suffered a broken ankle 4 years before my diagnoses it may have triggerged my ataxia as it seems to have occured since then as it was quite a shock to the body. Or is it just coincidence?
Hello, Martin. First, know that I have absolutely no medical training. So what I am going to say is just my opinion. Nothing based on any scientific fact.
I am more inclined to think that may be you already had ataxia which, may be, triggered some awkwardness /clumsiness in your gait, (although may be not visible yet) and…you twisted your ankle, or you fell on it, don’t know all the facts.
Just my thoughts…
Stay as strong as you can. Take care:-)
I am questioning that sort of thing myself. I was hurt a year ago at work, and this injury included a bad neck strain that has still not gone away. I am not saying I didnt have the begining stages of ataxia but that the trauma made it so much worse.
Dear Martin, I agree with what Cicina has said (and I, like her have no medical training, etc.) ;o)
I also agree with Cicina. Don’t have any medical training either. I fell and broke my leg on a downhill trail before I was diagnosed 4 yrs later.
Twirlie Girl,
I have had a sore neck (notice I did not say “pain”, I would not want you to think I am a pain in the neck… Hee! Hee!) for years way before stroke and ataxia. Neck and back pains do not go away easily. I am sure many people on this site can attest to this. Doctors will give you pain pills, but the best thing for those problems is often physical therapy to strengthen the muscles.
As for neck pain, a pillow can also make all the difference. You don’t want it too high nor too flat, but just right… Just like in the tale of Goldilocks and the three bears.
I would be more inclined to think that a brain injury rather than a broken bone or neck strain could precipitate an underlying ataxia.
There is one thing though, it seems that once you have ataxia, little ailments appear to be magnified. Could it be because we are using so much energy to stay upwards and do anything, and we have nothing left to fight other problems?
I let you ponder the question. Too much for my damaged brain…
Take care and be good while I go back and read my Fairy Tales 
Hmmm. I also broke a bone in my lower leg about 12 years ago, and a few years later my doctor detected peripheral neuropathy in the feet and legs. Shortly after that was confirmed, I began having symptoms of imbalance. By the time I was four years into retirement (2008), symptoms of imbalancewere causing me great concern.
Maybe suffering an injury such as breaking a bone is enough to trigger signs of ataxia, ! Hmm, Something to think about.
Hi Martin
Like the other replies I fell down the stairs and dislocated my thumb, walked into the corner of a wall and broke my tooth at least 2 years before diagnosis. In hindsight I can see that many mishaps were the onset of ataxia. I used to have trouble walking in thongs now I don't wear them. So it may be a coincidence .................. Any way look forward not backwards we cant change the past even though we would all love too
Cheers Wobbles xx
My MD told me that after the ride from hell on the Orient Express at Worlds of Fun my Ataxia kicked in. Something about the g-force maybe. Could have been timing but that rollercoaster wasted me for the entire day and made me feel drunk for the following week.
Usually ataxia leads to falls. I fell 4 years ago (lost my balance in the dark when I turned the light off) due to Ataxia and sprained my ankle.
That’s the point, ataxia can cause falls, but falls do not cause ataxia, unless you fall on your head, damage your cerebellum… Etc…
Hi Cincina
Yes I guess you're correct, but I had absolutley no symptoms untill 18 months after that break. Also it wasn't ataxia related accident at all, something anyone could have done.
I agree with everything Cicina has said.
This is one of the most interesting and thought provoking discussions I have read on here. And it kind of echoes a thought that occurred to me: What if I had ataxia milling away inside me, just waiting for an excuse to rear it's head? Thanks cicina, I knew something good would come out of France one day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will take this as a compliment Scruffy Cat. In France, we say with "IF’s we could put Paris in a bottle…
I always thought that when we use the word “if” too much (if this, if that…) we kind of waste our time since it is not dealing with reality and the present.
I got up almost two years ago at 5am to go to the bathroom and right then, getting up from the toilet, I had a stroke which damaged my cerebellum, causing my ataxia. Of course, later on, I asked myself the infamous question: "what IF I had not gotten up and stayed in bed? " would I still have had a stroke, or would the little blood clot which caused it (Although doctors are not even sure that was the reason) have travelled through my brain without creating any problem? I will never know, so I quit torturing myself. It is what it is, I had a stroke, I now have ataxia and that is my life now, like it or not.
As John Colyer always reminds us, we have to stay strong.
But, Scruffy Cat, this does not mean that I don’t break down sometimes and say a few choice words ( in French, so that no one will understand… French is such a romantic language, they say…)
Thank you for the laugh, Scruffy Cat!
I was recently diagnosed with Ataxia but suspect it may have been a problem all of my life. I always had a problem with poor coordination especially in school sports etc. I suspect it is getting worse as I get older.
well when my mother broke her ankle she was never able to walk again. Now i don't if that was because of her ataxia but that is what we have come to believe. she was just clumsy to be able to try and walk again..