Researchers at the new Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix launched a study this month designed to determine the physical and neurological impact of simple exercise on Parkinson’s disease patients age 50 to 70.
During the 12-week trial, participants follow a structured exercise program called pole-striding (walking with ski-like poles) three days a week for 45 minutes.
They are monitored and coached by staff members from the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center. They wear heart rate monitors and pedometers to measure the intensity of the training.
Participants’ brains are monitored to determine if increased physical activity helps protect the neurons in the brain from the disease.
For more information go to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Parkinsons Disease Advice On Mobility Products For Parkinsons Disease Patients.
Parkinsons disease is a difficult and frustrating illness affecting one in 500 people in the UK. There are a wealth of services, advice and products on hand that can help with symptoms and side effects associated with Parkinsons disease, making life easier for both careers and patients.
Parkinsons disease or PD as it can often be called is a movement disorder that persists over a long period of time and progressively gets worse. This degenerative disorder attacks the central nervous system resulting in impaired motor skills that cause tremors, muscle rigidity, and slowing or loss of physical movement.
Exercise and mobility are the best things you can do/ or encourage to restore some independence against Parkinsons negative effects. Medical experts view exercise with the same level of importance as medication when it comes to the management of Parkinsons disease. Exercise helps by keeping muscles strong and improving flexibility and mobility, as well as recovering balance and preventing joint stiffening. For example investing in a Pedal Exerciser can help re-establish muscle strength in the lower body and is easy to use in the home.
Getting out and about is important, as it a great source of both physical and mental activity improving the quality of life for the Parkinsons patient. Mobility Aids such as walking sticks are designed to provide support for those who have difficulty keeping their balance. A Parkinson's patient tends to stoop forward and shuffle, so the Quad Cane would be a recommended strong support for the patient. However there is the Walking Stick Seat that as implied in its name, has a seat for when the user feels fatigued and can be easily folded for storage or travel.
Freezing, getting locked in one position is an immobilizing symptom of Parkinsons that prevents the patient from walking. The Parkinsons sufferer cannot seem to focus on taking another step however there is a mobility aid on the market that combats this problem. This mobility product is a laser that come attached to walking stick, beaming a line onto the ground encouraging the user to step over it. To purchase this specialist item, or to request further details please email mail@collinscare.co.uk, or call 01603 483883.
Hand tremors can be an embarrassing symptom of Parkinsons, but one that can often be compensated for by using mobility utensils. For example the Sure Grip Cup has deep groves to resist slippage and the Good Grips Weighted Cutlery has added weight to engage more muscle control. These products and many more allow the Parkinson's patient to remain more independent, which can help with the side effect of depression that can be related to this disease.
For more information go to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org
Parkinsons disease or PD as it can often be called is a movement disorder that persists over a long period of time and progressively gets worse. This degenerative disorder attacks the central nervous system resulting in impaired motor skills that cause tremors, muscle rigidity, and slowing or loss of physical movement.
Exercise and mobility are the best things you can do/ or encourage to restore some independence against Parkinsons negative effects. Medical experts view exercise with the same level of importance as medication when it comes to the management of Parkinsons disease. Exercise helps by keeping muscles strong and improving flexibility and mobility, as well as recovering balance and preventing joint stiffening. For example investing in a Pedal Exerciser can help re-establish muscle strength in the lower body and is easy to use in the home.
Getting out and about is important, as it a great source of both physical and mental activity improving the quality of life for the Parkinsons patient. Mobility Aids such as walking sticks are designed to provide support for those who have difficulty keeping their balance. A Parkinson's patient tends to stoop forward and shuffle, so the Quad Cane would be a recommended strong support for the patient. However there is the Walking Stick Seat that as implied in its name, has a seat for when the user feels fatigued and can be easily folded for storage or travel.
Freezing, getting locked in one position is an immobilizing symptom of Parkinsons that prevents the patient from walking. The Parkinsons sufferer cannot seem to focus on taking another step however there is a mobility aid on the market that combats this problem. This mobility product is a laser that come attached to walking stick, beaming a line onto the ground encouraging the user to step over it. To purchase this specialist item, or to request further details please email mail@collinscare.co.uk, or call 01603 483883.
Hand tremors can be an embarrassing symptom of Parkinsons, but one that can often be compensated for by using mobility utensils. For example the Sure Grip Cup has deep groves to resist slippage and the Good Grips Weighted Cutlery has added weight to engage more muscle control. These products and many more allow the Parkinson's patient to remain more independent, which can help with the side effect of depression that can be related to this disease.
For more information go to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org
Monday, January 4, 2010
TAI CHI AND PARKINSONS?
Tai Chi movement’s gentle balance enhancing motions can obviously help the Parkinson’s patient by helping to reduce the gradual loss of balance that Parkinson’s sufferers often experience. However, there may be much more it offers. For example, Tai Chi movements rotate the human body in about 95% of the ways the body can move, when a long form is practiced. This is far beyond what other exercise offers, and in fact the closest would be several swimming strokes, which together would only rotate the body in about 65% of the ways it can move. For Parkinson’s sufferers, or anyone for that matter, this would indicate that by “using” 95% of the body’s possible motion several times a week, the possibility of “losing” the ability to do so diminishes accordingly. This isn’t rocket science, but simple common sense.
Yet, perhaps Parkinson’s patients have even more to gain from Tai Chi. A few years ago I taught several classes at local medical centers. I was continually frustrated because although I’d seen emerging reports that Tai Chi was beneficial to people with Parkinson’s Disease, or arthritis, or chronic hypertension, etc., even though the departments that specialized in those conditions were often just down the hall from my Tai Chi class . . . they might as well have been a million miles away. Because the physicians who ran those departments were either ignorant of or unwilling to refer their patients to the possibilities that Tai Chi offered their lives.
For more information go to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org
Yet, perhaps Parkinson’s patients have even more to gain from Tai Chi. A few years ago I taught several classes at local medical centers. I was continually frustrated because although I’d seen emerging reports that Tai Chi was beneficial to people with Parkinson’s Disease, or arthritis, or chronic hypertension, etc., even though the departments that specialized in those conditions were often just down the hall from my Tai Chi class . . . they might as well have been a million miles away. Because the physicians who ran those departments were either ignorant of or unwilling to refer their patients to the possibilities that Tai Chi offered their lives.
For more information go to www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org
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