Impaired Ability to Maintain Smooth Walking, Often Observed in Parkinson's Disease Patients
Moving with Parkinson's: Navigating the Freezing of Gait
Struggling to take a step forward sometimes feels like your feet are glued to the floor – that's the difficulty of freezing of gait (FOG), a common issue for people in the middle to advanced stages of Parkinson's disease. But fear not, we've got you covered with a plethora of tips, tricks, and resources to help you keep moving.
FOG occurs when there's a disruption to your usual walking pattern, often due to anxiety, stress, or losing concentration mid-stride. It can also be linked to missed medication, constipation, or simply starting a new task.
Freezing can pop up during various movements, not just walking – speaking, writing, or even brushing your teeth can be affected. multitasking can also contribute to FOG, so it's important to focus on one task at a time.
When you experience a start hesitation, trouble starting a movement, try shifting your weight from side to side, humming to a rhythm, or using a metronome for the beat. Pretend there's an imaginary line to step over, and focus on taking long strides to help get the ball rolling.
Managing Freezing
There's no magic cure for FOG, but a regular medication review, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy can help build your core strength, reduce the risk of injury, and adapt your living spaces. Learning about your triggers, such as walking through doorways or turning a corner, can help implement strategies to manage an episode. Regular exercise, maintaining good posture, and wearing supportive footwear can also minimize the impact of FOG.
Sometimes, a simple change in mindset might do the trick. Take your medication on time, every time, and remember to focus and maintain patience when attempting to move. If you feel yourself freezing, wait calmly, and try not to rush.
Resources
Need more tools to help you keep moving? Consider these resources:
- Participate in Parkinson's research or studies! Learn more on our website.
- The Clock Yourself app combines cognitive and physical challenges to keep your mind and body engaged. Find it on Apple and Android devices.
- Discover the Metronome Beats app to help you find the perfect beat with adjustable speeds. Available for Apple and Android devices.
- Join Dance for Parkinson's online or in-person classes for exercise that moves the body and mind.
- Enhance your speech and voice with free recorded lessons from the Parkinson Voice Project.
- Visit the UTS speech therapy clinic for professional help with your speech difficulties.
- Explore the Wellness Wednesday Video Series for informative videos and guided exercise routines.
Remember, every person living with Parkinson's is unique, so find what works best for you to keep moving forward!
Related Research
NeuRA and Sensoria Health are preparing to test smart sock prototypes that vibrate in order to stimulate the feet and encourage a smooth rhythm while walking – stay tuned for updates on the project called Walking Tall.
Brain exercises and training to increase reaction times are also under investigation, though more research is needed to gain a better understanding of their effectiveness.
Finally, research into a stimulator to the spinal cord is in its earliest stages, but it shows promise for improving mobility and reducing FOG.
Stay active, stay hopeful, and keep moving forward in your Parkinson's journey!
Enrichment Data:FOG in Parkinson's disease is a complex issue involving both internal and external triggers. These triggers include physiological factors like fatigue and sequence effect, environmental factors like visual clutter, transitions, and doorway effect, psychological factors like anxiety, stress, and distraction, and motor initiation difficulties such as gait initiation deficits. Understanding these triggers can help develop effective strategies to minimize the impact of FOG, ultimately helping people living with Parkinson's to maintain their independence and mobility.
- In addition to navigating a freezing of gait (FOG) during walking, it's essential to be aware of how FOG can affect other movements such as speaking, writing, or brushing teeth.
- To manage FOG, a regular medication review, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy can be beneficial in building core strength, reducing the risk of injury, and adapting living spaces.
- Engaging in activities like dancing, using apps like Clock Yourself or Metronome Beats, or participating in Parkinson's research can contribute to maintaining good health-and-wellness and fitness-and-exercise, which in turn can help manage medical-conditions related to Parkinson's, including neurological-disorders like FOG.
