Reviewed by Jon Glass, MD
Because Parkinson's disease affects your ability to move, exercise helps to keep muscles strong and improve flexibility and mobility. Exercise will not stop Parkinson's disease from progressing;but, it will improve your balance and it can prevent joint stiffening.
You should check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program. Your doctor may make recommendations about:
* The types of exercise best suited to you and those which you should avoid
* The intensity of the workout (how hard you should be working)
* The duration of your workout and any physical limitations
* Referrals to other professionals, such as a physical therapist who can help you create your own personal exercise program
The type of exercise that works best for you depends on your symptoms, fitness level, and overall health. Generally, exercises that stretch the limbs through thefull range of motion are encouraged.
Here are some tips to keep in mind when exercising.
* Always warm-up before beginning your exercise routine and cool down at the end.
* If you plan to workout for 30 minutes, start with 10-minute sessions and work your way up.
* Exercise your facial muscles, jaw, and voice when possible: Sing or read aloud, exaggerating your lip movements. Make faces in the mirror. Chew food vigorously.
* Try water exercise, such as water aerobics or swimming laps. These are often easier on the joints and require less balance.
* Work out in a safe environment; avoid slippery floors, poor lighting, throw rugs, and other potential dangers.
* If you have difficulty balancing, exercise within reach of a grab bar or rail. If you have trouble standing or getting up, try exercising in bed rather than on the floor or an exercise mat.
* If at any time you feel sick or you begin to hurt, stop.
* Select a hobby or activity you enjoy and stick with it. Some suggestions include: gardening; walking; swimming; water aerobics; yoga; tai chi.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Why Exercise is So Important
Daily exercise therapy is one of the best things that you can do for yourself to counteract the negative effects of PD & other neurological & muscular disorders. A lack of physical activity reduces the amount of oxygen to the brain, contributes to further cell damage, loss of cognitive skills and muscle control.
Exercise brings additional oxygen & glucose to the brain, both of which are crucial to brain function. The body responds by forming new capillaries to bring the additional blood to nerve cells and by boosting brain chemicals that protect neurons and strengthen new neuronal connections. We have learned from stroke victims that the human brain has the ability to create new connections and bypass damaged areas to regain lost motor skills & muscle control. Remarkable results have been achieved, over time, with daily mental & physical exercise therapy. Mental concentration on repetitive physical movements can provide benefits to our muscles as well as our mental ability to control them.
When nerve cells are deprived of stimuli they atrophy, suggesting that stimulation of the central nervous system by physical activity may retard the loss of nerve cells in the brain and elsewhere. Exercise has been shown to enhance blood flow to various parts of the brain as well as to increase the speed with which nerve messages travel through the brain.
In addition to the effects of Parkinsons, most people diagnosed with this disease are over the age of 50 and therefore are also experiencing the normal effects of aging.
According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons:
* As muscles age, they begin to shrink and take longer to respond
* Tendons become stiffer & less able to tolerate stress
* Handgrip strength decreases, making routine tasks more difficult
* The heart muscle becomes less capable, making us tire more quickly
* Joint motion becomes more restricted & flexibility decreases
* Joints become inflamed and arthritic as the cushioning cartilage begins to breakdown
However the good news is, that we now know that most of the changes in our musculoskeletal system that were attributed to normal aging are in fact the result of inactivity and or insufficient physical exercise. The less physical activity and exercise we do the less capable we become.
According to the Mayo Clinic, "Exercise has important benefits for everyone regardless of age or physical condition... When your condition threatens to immobilize you, Exercise keeps you moving... to retain your mobility & function, use it or lose it".
Exercise brings additional oxygen & glucose to the brain, both of which are crucial to brain function. The body responds by forming new capillaries to bring the additional blood to nerve cells and by boosting brain chemicals that protect neurons and strengthen new neuronal connections. We have learned from stroke victims that the human brain has the ability to create new connections and bypass damaged areas to regain lost motor skills & muscle control. Remarkable results have been achieved, over time, with daily mental & physical exercise therapy. Mental concentration on repetitive physical movements can provide benefits to our muscles as well as our mental ability to control them.
When nerve cells are deprived of stimuli they atrophy, suggesting that stimulation of the central nervous system by physical activity may retard the loss of nerve cells in the brain and elsewhere. Exercise has been shown to enhance blood flow to various parts of the brain as well as to increase the speed with which nerve messages travel through the brain.
In addition to the effects of Parkinsons, most people diagnosed with this disease are over the age of 50 and therefore are also experiencing the normal effects of aging.
According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons:
* As muscles age, they begin to shrink and take longer to respond
* Tendons become stiffer & less able to tolerate stress
* Handgrip strength decreases, making routine tasks more difficult
* The heart muscle becomes less capable, making us tire more quickly
* Joint motion becomes more restricted & flexibility decreases
* Joints become inflamed and arthritic as the cushioning cartilage begins to breakdown
However the good news is, that we now know that most of the changes in our musculoskeletal system that were attributed to normal aging are in fact the result of inactivity and or insufficient physical exercise. The less physical activity and exercise we do the less capable we become.
According to the Mayo Clinic, "Exercise has important benefits for everyone regardless of age or physical condition... When your condition threatens to immobilize you, Exercise keeps you moving... to retain your mobility & function, use it or lose it".
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Gameworld: Motion games broaden uses beyond exercise
By John Gaudiosi
RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters Life!) – Ever since Nintendo launched the Wii, gamers have been interacting with characters and working out with virtual trainers in titles like Electronic Arts’ “EA Sports Active” or Ubisoft’s “Your Shape.”
Nintendo is even encouraging families to exercise together with “Wii Games: Summer 2010,” a national tour that kicks off in Jersey City, New Jersey on July 16 with Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson serving as an ambassador for the competition.
Now researchers, scientists and game developers are using Nintendo’s console for many other health-oriented applications, and in some cases are getting millions of dollars in grants to dream up new technologies.
A recent gathering of over 400 top minds at the sixth annual Games for Health Conference in Boston found innovative new ways that video games with motion-sensor controllers are being used to help doctors and patients.
Through a grant from the National Institute of Health, Red Hill Games and the School of Nursing at the University of California San Francisco are using Wii technology to create games that help people with Parkinson’s disease improve their balance. One called “Rail Runner” requires patients to stand up and sit down to operate an old-fashioned railroad hand cart.
“Most of these patients are in their 70s and 80s, and they really love these games,” said Bob Hone, creative director at Red Hill Studios. “They really want something that’s going to address their disease, and what’s different is these games are designed specifically for them.”
Red Hill is incorporating similar Wii technology into games to help improve gait and balance in kids with Cerebral Palsy.
“These kids sometimes have physical challenges, so we’ve taken that into account to make games where they feel like they’re walking and they get to the finish line successfully,” said Hone.
GROWING BUSINESS
This fall, Sony Computer Entertainment America will launch PlayStation Move for PlayStation 3 and Microsoft will introduce Kinect for Xbox 360. These new devices are expected to not only open up gaming to a new mainstream audience, but also offer pioneers in the burgeoning Games for Health arena the ability to dream up new technology.
“The impact of these new technologies is going to be as seismic as Nintendo was when it originally came out with the Wii and the Wii balance board, because it’s going to extend across more platforms,” said Stephen Yang, a researcher and assistant professor at New York’s College of Courtland.
“There are a lot of great game designers out there who will be able to tap into these new physical interactions with games and bring new experiences that will be both fun and beneficial for patients,” Yang said.
John Lumpkin, MD, senior vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has seen first-hand the advances that motion-sensor controllers and physical games have had on both his patients and his own children.
“These games promote motion, which increases the heart rate and burns more calories,” said Lumpkin. “Even a game with the simplest motion like playing drums on ‘Rock Band’ can have a gamer burning twice as many calories per hour as he or she would just sitting around, while a more vigorous game like ‘Dance Dance Revolution’ can burn as many as six times the amount of calories,” said Lumpkin.
Lumpkin said what really excites him, and many in his field, is that fact that today researchers are using a Wii balance board game to help stroke victims regain their balance just as effectively as an $18,000 piece of equipment.
That’s one reason why the Games for Health sector has been growing exponentially over the past six years with no slowdown in sight.
“When you look at the economic activity associated with Health Care in the U.S. it’s approximately 16 percent of gross domestic product, even in countries that spend less on health care, it’s still double-digit GDPs,” said Ben Sawyer, co-founder, Games for Health.
“Small games for health developers are receiving grants in the tens of millions to the low hundreds of millions” of dollars, said Sawyer. “When you combine those numbers with game sales of titles like Konami’s ‘Dance Dance Revolution,’ Ubisoft’s ‘Your Shape,’ Nintendo’s ‘Wii Fit’ and Electronic Arts’ ‘EA Sports Active,’ the Games for Health sector is well over $1 billion annually.”
RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters Life!) – Ever since Nintendo launched the Wii, gamers have been interacting with characters and working out with virtual trainers in titles like Electronic Arts’ “EA Sports Active” or Ubisoft’s “Your Shape.”
Nintendo is even encouraging families to exercise together with “Wii Games: Summer 2010,” a national tour that kicks off in Jersey City, New Jersey on July 16 with Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson serving as an ambassador for the competition.
Now researchers, scientists and game developers are using Nintendo’s console for many other health-oriented applications, and in some cases are getting millions of dollars in grants to dream up new technologies.
A recent gathering of over 400 top minds at the sixth annual Games for Health Conference in Boston found innovative new ways that video games with motion-sensor controllers are being used to help doctors and patients.
Through a grant from the National Institute of Health, Red Hill Games and the School of Nursing at the University of California San Francisco are using Wii technology to create games that help people with Parkinson’s disease improve their balance. One called “Rail Runner” requires patients to stand up and sit down to operate an old-fashioned railroad hand cart.
“Most of these patients are in their 70s and 80s, and they really love these games,” said Bob Hone, creative director at Red Hill Studios. “They really want something that’s going to address their disease, and what’s different is these games are designed specifically for them.”
Red Hill is incorporating similar Wii technology into games to help improve gait and balance in kids with Cerebral Palsy.
“These kids sometimes have physical challenges, so we’ve taken that into account to make games where they feel like they’re walking and they get to the finish line successfully,” said Hone.
GROWING BUSINESS
This fall, Sony Computer Entertainment America will launch PlayStation Move for PlayStation 3 and Microsoft will introduce Kinect for Xbox 360. These new devices are expected to not only open up gaming to a new mainstream audience, but also offer pioneers in the burgeoning Games for Health arena the ability to dream up new technology.
“The impact of these new technologies is going to be as seismic as Nintendo was when it originally came out with the Wii and the Wii balance board, because it’s going to extend across more platforms,” said Stephen Yang, a researcher and assistant professor at New York’s College of Courtland.
“There are a lot of great game designers out there who will be able to tap into these new physical interactions with games and bring new experiences that will be both fun and beneficial for patients,” Yang said.
John Lumpkin, MD, senior vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has seen first-hand the advances that motion-sensor controllers and physical games have had on both his patients and his own children.
“These games promote motion, which increases the heart rate and burns more calories,” said Lumpkin. “Even a game with the simplest motion like playing drums on ‘Rock Band’ can have a gamer burning twice as many calories per hour as he or she would just sitting around, while a more vigorous game like ‘Dance Dance Revolution’ can burn as many as six times the amount of calories,” said Lumpkin.
Lumpkin said what really excites him, and many in his field, is that fact that today researchers are using a Wii balance board game to help stroke victims regain their balance just as effectively as an $18,000 piece of equipment.
That’s one reason why the Games for Health sector has been growing exponentially over the past six years with no slowdown in sight.
“When you look at the economic activity associated with Health Care in the U.S. it’s approximately 16 percent of gross domestic product, even in countries that spend less on health care, it’s still double-digit GDPs,” said Ben Sawyer, co-founder, Games for Health.
“Small games for health developers are receiving grants in the tens of millions to the low hundreds of millions” of dollars, said Sawyer. “When you combine those numbers with game sales of titles like Konami’s ‘Dance Dance Revolution,’ Ubisoft’s ‘Your Shape,’ Nintendo’s ‘Wii Fit’ and Electronic Arts’ ‘EA Sports Active,’ the Games for Health sector is well over $1 billion annually.”
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