Hey guys! Iāve been having so much trouble with the trampoline/marshmellow floor symptom! Itās a relatively new symptom for me (two months or so) and it makes me feel SO uncomfortable Iām amazed how I get myself to do stuff sometimes because I just absolutely dread the feeling. Itās like consciously thinking about how to walk, one of the most simple things, 24/7! If anyone has ANY ways to relieve it even just for the tiniest bit please let me know!
Yeah, thatās a really crummy symptom. I find some relief while wearing more āminimalistā footwear (cushy insoles are the worst!).
You will get used to it and stop getting anxious about it. You will learn to stop reacting to it. I get this everyday more so in bad sleep days.
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Hi Anna,
Can totally sympathise with you here. I used to get this an awful lot but alot less so now Iām at 50mg of Amitriptyline. Lastnight I did have falling through the bed type feelings and wooshy head on turning in bed. As @GetBetter says tiredness really impacts this for me too
Are you taking meds at the moment? 
Avoid memory foam soles. Buy good solid shoes with solid bases, flat to the floor, low heel and wide enough to keep the entire foot in touch with the floor.
As @GetBetter says Try not to be over anxious about it. The best way to reduce anxiety about anything is to thoroughly understand whatever is causing the anxiety. You need to learn more about your condition. Once you do you can just think to yourself ā¦ oh thatās just feeling like that because of So-n-Soā. Learn and remove the mystery. The āmarshmallow floorā feeling is because your balance system is compromised by the condition and your brain is receiving and placing too much reliance on messages from your feet in order to keep you upright.
Sorry but I feel I must correct you there. Walking is actually pretty much the most complicated activity your brain ever has to perform. Nothing simple about it at all. Nobody has yet penetrated the art of balance in respect to bipeds. It remains a mystery. Really we should fall head first with every step but we donāt. MAV is often described as a āmigraine variant balance disorder. Helen
I agree with the others. Sometimes I am best going barefoot as much as possible. Wide base shoes only, I wear the Ugs slip on style. I definitely walk with a wider heavier gait than most. The anxiety will decrease some over time and exposure but this is one symptom that you never really get used to, only better at coping with. You are in good company walking on marshmallows, its one of my least favorite parts of MAV.
Trampoline floor is an awful sensation, I sympathise. I compare it to walking on a boat. Are you on any medication? From what I understand itās the intermittent migrainous attacks that cause the brain to struggle with balance, and if there are a lot of attacks the brain will struggle to reestablish normal balance in between.
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Whether one looks on it as āintermittentā migrainous/vertiginous attacks or indeed ongoing, continuous attacks personally I donāt think the indications that the balance Is adversely affected, ie āmarshmallow floorā or indeed the actual dizziness itself will quit until the attacks are well controlled by some means or another ie meds, sorting a root cause. Thatās where the migraine associated vertigo comes in. Helen
Repeating whatās already been said probably but totally sympathise itās for me up there with one of the worst symptoms and a sign MAVs flaring up. You do have to come to terms with it though so your anxiety lowers. If you worry about it constantly you will feel like youāve forgotten how to walk. Solid shoes are best any bounce in your sole will increase sensation or rocking feeling. Itās much easier for brain to calculate balance moving faster than slowly so if your out and about take a decent walking pace your legs may ache but you may end up with toned muscles at the end of it 
every cloud .
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This is true and I also understand that when running the brain uses the ears less and the other senses more like eyes, joint angles etc.
I was never dizzy running.
Yes definitely. Tai Chi Instructor told the class that was why Tai Chi is so good for balance/stability because its ultra slow movements challenge the brain so.
I dread saying this because I can anticipate your next question but, somewhere in a medical paper quite recently I read that this is a very strong indication of ear dysfunction rather than brain. In fact Iām almost sure it stated that so many people who had had vestibular neuritis commented thus.
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Can you find that reference Helen?
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Yes. At last ā¦
the authors have experienced a patient with chronic vestibular loss who could ride a bicycle well despite having vertigo and imbalance whilst walking. This may be an example of the description by Brant d et al of patients with acute vestibular disorders who are better at maintaining their balance when running than when walking slowly. This suggests that the automatic spinal locomotor program suppresses destabilizing vestibular inputs
Extracted from paper Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy: Review of Indications, Mechanisms, and Key Exercises. ncbi.nim.nih.gov J Clin Neurol.2011 Dec;7(4); 184-196. and on Page 18/38.
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As I knew nothing about automatic spinal locomotor I did a quick internet search and under āSpinal locomotionā a very informative article from Wikipedia. Apparently spinal locomotor can work independently from input from the brain and this facility is regularly used to enhance rehabilitation for people with spinal injury.
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My trampoline floor feeling went within a few months if I recall correctly. But I was left with an imbalance which did not leave me for years. But that went as well, eventually.
Take a vestibular suppressor like Ami and see how that goes.
Yes I had almost complete relief of vestibular symptoms whilst cycling and running. Very welcome relief and in some ways bizarre!
That to me is oh so weird! I know others have posted they were happier running just like you but for me once I had started 24/7 dizziness/constant imbalance that was it absolutely no relief 24/7 symptoms until I had reached a (relatively) effective dose of Propranolol so that must have been from December 2014 until sometime after February 2017. A more exact date Iād have to check that out.
Wouldnāt it be interesting to actually know why the difference exists. Maybe in some people - like me - the automatical spinal locomotor is underdeveloped. How good it would be to have some answers.
Erik seems to have hit upon something here. Apparently minimalistic footwear is far better for balance. Different age groups need different styles it seems but thereās an obvious effect on balance.
https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2019/12/19/new-research-shows-minimal-footwear-improves-stability-in-older-people/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268003319304231
According to an article in the Daily Mail Scientists from King Saud University in Saudi Arabia carried out trials which suggested that the types of shoes you wear influences balance through the pressure it puts on the footās main tissue which then sends messages to the central nervous system (proprioception) connected to the brain. Turns out sandals were best for improved balance and posture in 20s-30s whereas over 65s benefit most from shoes with less arch support and a broader base.
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