Ten Basic Exercises for Patients with Parkinson's Disease

The maintenance of normal muscle tone and function is an important aspect of the treatment of parkinsonism. In part, medication administered for the illness achieves this goal. However, to realize the full benefit of the medication, daily exercise and activity are essential. Here is an outline of some of the exercises capable of maintaining muscle power and tone and preventing deformities of the limbs and spine. Their daily performance has proved most beneficial to patients with this illness.

TEN BASIC EXERCISES FOR THE PARKINSON PATIENT

1. Bring the toes up with every step you take. In Parkinson's disease, "you never make a move", without lifting the toes.
2. Spread the legs (10 inches) when walking or turning, to provide a wide base, a better stance, and to prevent falling. It may not look "beautiful," but neither does falling.
3. For greater safety in turning, use small steps, with feet widely separated. Never cross one leg over the other when turning. Practice walking a few yards and turn. Walk in the opposite direction and turn. Do so fifteen minutes a day.
4. Practice walking into tight corners of a room, to overcome fear of close places.
5. To insure good body balance, practice rapid excursions of the body. Backward, forward and to the right and left, five minutes, several times a day. Don't look for a wall when you think you are falling. It may not be there. Your body will always be there to protect you, if you will practice balance daily.
6. When the legs feel frozen or "glued" to the floor, a lift of the toes eliminates muscle spasm and the fear of falling. You are free to walk again.
7. Swing the arms freely when walking. It helps to take body weight off the legs, lessens fatigue, and loosens the arms and shoulders.
8. If getting out of a chair is difficult, rise with "lightning speed," to overcome the "pull of gravity." Sitting down should be done slow, with body bent sharply forward, until one touches the seat. Practice this at least a dozen times a day.
9. If the body lists to one side, carry a shopping bag loaded with books or other weights in the opposite hand to decrease the bend.
10. Any task that is difficult, such as buttoning a shirt. or getting out of bed, if practiced 20 times it day, becomes easier the 21st time.