Originally Posted by johnt

Along with many others, I'm interested in the use of forced exercise for PD. In this context, the example that's normally given is cycling, so the part of the body that's mainly being exercised is the legs. To avoid covering the same ground, I've looked at forced exercise for the arms.

To force an arm to move I've used an upturned mixer drill, which is fixed to the floor. This type of drill was chosen because it is geared to rotate less quickly than a normal drill and to provide more torque. The rotational speed can be adjusted. A tube is fixed to the side of the mixer paddle. Over this is placed a handle which can rotate freely. To use, I stand next to the drill with one hand placed palm down on the top of the handle. The hand is free to let go at any time. The machine is switched on and off using a switch next to the free hand. Note: this set up is not entirely safe: the handle is moving quickly and would do damage if it hit you.

My test set up is as follows:

Measurement: immediately before the first forced exercise session of the day I do a tap test in which I move my most affected hand horizontally between two screws 13 cm apart for 1 minute, counting the number of taps as I go.

Number of forced exercise sessions per day: 2, one when I'm on, one when I'm off
Session length: 5 minutes
RPM: 100 -120
Diameter of rotation: 13 cm.
Hand tested: the most affected

I've followed this regime each day for a week. The number of taps in a minute varies from day to day (a typical score is 80, equivalent to an rpm of 40). I can't see a trend. I do notice that my tremor is worse than normal. I don't know if this is linked to the forced exercise.

I'd be interested in any advice on how to improve the effectiveness of the approach. I'd be particularly grateful to anyone who argued that the approach was unwise.

If I saw any improvement due to forced exercise, I would extend the set up to move a number of parts of the body independently and concurrently. Do you think this would increase neuroplasticity or burn up dopamine so quickly it actually did harm?

John