Parkinsons and Exercise

Hi Steve,  I don't have Parkinson's but I do have Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) which is in kind of in the same family of diseases.  I get really low blood pressure and take meds for that, tremors and cant regulate my body temperature. There is also a whole other long list of things but I wont go into it....I was diagnosed in January of this year and my symptoms started in August of last year.  It has just been in the last two months that I have felt well enough to get outside and start walking.  On my good days, when my blood pressure is behaving, I can walk up to 5 miles and I most times take my cane with my just in case I lose my balance and yes, it does wonders for making me feel so much better.  I have noticed that some of my symptoms have lessened in the last few months since I have been able to exercise.  I have also been doing some light yoga but I struggle with it as I have balance problems .  This is an interesting subject and I hope more people post regarding it...

Steve

I have had PD for 7 years and am age 73. I have had both knee joints replaced due arthritis but one of them is not good and it is quite painful to walk. I also have gout which is due to kidney disease so I am unable to carry out regular excercises.

For the past 3 years I have attended a class doing Taoist Tai Chi. This is a form of excercise that is designed to promote good health and balance by carrying out 108 moves in sequence based on stretching.  Although I cannot attend as regularly as I would wish I have found it to be excellent in keeping my joints relatively supple and ironing out much of the stiffness that comes with PD.

A lady with PD joined the class last year and at the beginning was very unsteady and unbalanced.  She has perservered much more than I am able to and the change in her is amazing. The society also has classes for disabled people in our area.  

I would recommend it to anyone who has the availability where they live. Suggest that anyone interested should check it out on the web.

Regards BILLY

Steve, I was dx with PD in 2001. I know several folks with PD who exercise regularly. They swear their symptoms are less and they are able to take less medication. I've been to several conferences and repeatedly hear ... reduce stress ... exercise!

I began participating in a study on exercise and PD. Actually it was a very small pre-study to see whether a larger study was warranted. Unfortunately I didn't finish the study because I ended up getting pneumonia and had some family demands that prevented me from devoting the necessary time. But ... everyone else who completed the study had positive results - same as above ... lessened their symptoms and often less meds. There are plans to do another phase and include more participants.

As was previously mentioned there has been evidence that Thai Chi is beneficial for people with Parkinson's. Yoga is another good one.

Hope this helps, lizzy4451