Nearly 1 million people in the U.S. live with Parkinson’s disease and, each year, roughly 90,000 will be told they have the disease.
A neurodegenerative disorder affecting movement, speech, swallowing, and balance, there is no cure for Parkinson’s, though medication can do much to control symptoms.
But more and more, experts are endorsing a proactive approach to fighting Parkinson’s, using specialized exercises and working with speech and physical therapists to prevent progression of the disease and allow patients to continue living their lives.
How Can Physical Therapy Relieve Neurological Symptoms from Parkinson’s?
While Parkinson’s disease presents as loss of muscle control or muscle weakness, the disease is not actually targeting the muscles themselves or the part of the brain that controls them. Rather, a loss of dopamine (a neurotransmitter) affects the function of the basal ganglia (a section of the brain affecting motor control) and results in disruption of automatic function.
What is automatic function?
Essentially, automatic function includes most everything the body learns to do in infancy and never has to think about again, like swallowing, walking, balancing and speaking. These processes become automatic. That is, unless something like Parkinson's disrupts that automatic system within the brain.
However, because the muscles themselves and the motor neurons controlling them are not actually damaged, targeted therapy can help patients with Parkinson’s disease relearn these movements and activities by taking conscious control over what was previously second nature.
Through this specialized therapy and targeted exercise, people living with Parkinson’s retrain and strengthen the muscles involved, reducing and even reversing symptoms for a long period of time.
Examples include:
- Swallow Therapy: Difficulties swallowing can be a dangerous symptom of Parkinson’s, possibly leading to choking and/or aspiration. But a trained therapist can examine a patient’s swallow and identify any problems that need to be addressed, as well as prescribe exercises to retrain those muscles.
- Speech Therapy:Common symptoms of Parkinson’s disease include loss of volume in the voice and difficulty with pronunciation. While not directly life-threatening, this can have a drastic impact on quality of life. However, exercises ranging from deep breathing to laryngeal push-ups help retrain the diaphragm and related muscles.
- Physical Therapy: Loss of balance and increased risk of fall is a serious symptom of Parkinson’s disease, and one that can lead to injuries that progress symptoms. This is why preventative therapy to maintain balance and mobility is crucial before symptoms even begin. Exercises emphasizing strength training, stretching, balance and making big movements all go a long way toward forestalling those problems.
- Occupational Therapy: Loss of motor function can make everyday activities challenging. An occupational therapist helps patients relearn how to do all those little things that mean so much, like dressing yourself and buttoning your own shirt.
To learn more about preventative therapy for Parkinson's disease at Sarasota Memorial, click here.
Written by Sarasota Memorial copywriter Philip Lederer, MA, who crafts a variety of external communications for the healthcare system. SMH's in-house wordsmith, Lederer earned his Master's degree in Public Administration and Political Philosophy from Morehead State University, KY.