Parkinson’s disease is a diagnosis that is often seen as the end of a person’s previous life. There is no cure at this time for Parkinson’s disease and while symptoms can be managed with medication and regular check-ins with a neurologist, often patients want something more to help subside symptoms and to keep them functional. This is where physical therapy can be a great partner to medical treatment.
In physical therapy, we can address a decline in patients at any stage of the disease. Patients that are barely showing symptoms to those that are wheelchair-bound can gain benefit and maintain function through physical therapy intervention. These interventions may include stretching, working on gait mechanics, creating repetitive motor patterns and getting tips for completing functional activity such as getting in and out of bed or climbing a set of stairs.
Exercise can help reduce the main motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease which include muscle rigidity, postural instability, “freezing gait”, slowness of movement, and decreased the size of the movement. Often with Parkinson’s disease, a patient will become unbalanced, have smaller movements such as in the steps they take or even the size of their handwriting, as well as a loss of their body awareness in space. Through repetitive motion and simple queueing, we can begin to retrain muscles to work to their fullest capacity and recreate “muscle memory”. A quote I like to use to describe this is, “Don’t practice until you get it right. Practice until you can’t get it wrong.”
Physical therapists here at Makovicka Physical Therapy are trained in deciphering a patient’s weaknesses and can complete a comprehensive program to help a patient maintain their ability to enjoy the life they were living before their Parkinson’s disease diagnosis. We also have clinicians trained in the LSVT BIG program, which is specific to Parkinson’s disease management. Please call and let us keep you moving on a positive track because as our slogan says, “Every day is game day”, and we don’t want you missing a single moment of it.
Chelsea Popken PTA
For more information on LSVT BIG program check out: https://www.lsvtglobal.com/LSVTBig
For more information on Parkinson’s Disease check out:
https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/All-Disorders/Parkinsons-Disease-Information-Page