Do you need to take control of your Parkinson’s?

The Rehab Team is completely committed to enhancing clients quality of life and daily movement through exercise that is specific to Parkinson’s. Taking control of your Parkinson’s and becoming proactive about your care plan is essential for long term management.

Traditionally, medication has been the main form of treatment for people diagnosed with Parkinson’s. However, there is one form of medication that all people living with Parkinson’s can benefit from - Exercise!

We all know that exercise is good for us and that any exercise is better than no exercise at all. Exercise in Parkinson’s is now being viewed as a powerful medicine if received in the right dose, at the right time, by a trained physiotherapist with experience with Parkinson’s management.

Although there is no cure for Parkinson’s, exercise has been found to have neuroprotective and neurorestoration benefits and may result in slowing down the progression of the disease in the very early stages. This means that the earlier Parkinson’s specific exercise is started the better the neuroplastic benefits will be. It is never too late to start your program, however, the further from diagnosis, the harder and longer you will need to work to achieve similar results.

Specific exercise needs to be prescribed following a one on one assessment and based on your specific Parkinson’s symptoms you experience and any functional limitations you have. Exercise needs to be challenging and completed with a type of forced effort above your normal self-selected movement pace. Most exercises are based on set principles of high intensity, high effort and functionally specific to you and your needs.

What can I expect from Parkinson’s specific exercise?

-Improved confidence

-Improved ability to complete daily tasks such as rolling in bed, getting in and out of bed and standing up or sitting down. 

-Improved walking quality - including improvements in your gait pattern, speed and endurance. 

-Improved balance and a decrease in falls

-Improved strength

-Improved quality of life

At present, very few people get referred to a physiotherapist with specific training in Parkinson’s Disease at diagnosis and sadly it is at this stage that exercise can have the most impact in slowing disease progression. If you have just been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, book in now for a consultation with The Rehab Team.

Take control of your diagnosis, you might have Parkinson’s, but it doesn’t have you!