[imark3000]

Wonderful work which I believe in more than drugs:
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pb...NEWS/711270318

[lou_lou]

Parkinson's patients build strength and confidence

By Susan Milton
Staff Writer

November 27, 2007 6:00 AM

HARWICH — They twisted, marched and stretched in ways they could not do just six weeks earlier.

Twice a week for six weeks at the Harwich Community Center, 10 men and women pushed their physical limits to learn moves that will help them deal with the disabling symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Their ultimate goal? To maintain their independence for as long as possible.

They hugged their legs to their chests to stretch their lower backs.

A few minutes later they backed against a wall, sliding up and down to build up leg muscles needed to rise from a chair.

They did push-ups, leaning into the wall, to add arm strength and to keep their hamstrings flexible.

"Who's not feeling the stretch?" asked physical therapist Dawn Lucier.

"Who would ever say?" quipped Paula Raye, 67, of Chatham, as her fellow class members laughed and groaned at the thought of more stretching.

"The program can't change the tremor, stiffness, postural instability and the slow movements, but I can make people more flexible, I can make them stronger and I can make their balance improve so that they are walking better," Lucier said.

Lucier has run six similar programs for 50 people with Parkinson's at the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape and Islands in Sandwich. The Harwich program was funded by a $2,500 grant from the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association.

The new setting drew 10 people from Chatham to Yarmouth, 67 to 90 years old, who are limited in the daily lives by the disease but who could still walk 100 feet.



The program was developed after research by Dr. Terry Ellis at Boston University showed that exercise improves the physical condition and quality of life for people with Parkinson's. The Harwich class, tested before and after, showed similar improvements.

"You are much more conscious of all your movements and your posture," said Millie Silk of East Dennis on the last day of class. "I can hear (Lucier) saying, 'Shoulders are back, head is up.'"

Most had increased how far they could walk in two minutes, Lucier said, and one woman had almost doubled the distance. A slower speed tends to increase somebody's risk of falling, she said.

"If you sit down every time you feel off-balance, you're giving into the disease," she told class members.

But it's the fear of falling, that panicky feeling that leads to frustration and anger, members told her.

"I learned (in this class) how to keep myself from freezing," Libby Damon, 74, of Harwich said.

Lucier expects her next session for Parkinson's patients to be held in Sandwich in April. She also offers tune-up sessions for former participants.

"I can't teach them about living with the disease," she said. "They are learning from each other."

Susan Milton can be reached at smilton@capecodonline.com.



Parkinson's
Parkinson's disease is a chronic, progressive disease of the brain that affects people in different ways and progresses at different speeds in different people. There are 1.5 million Americans who have the disease - another 60,000 are diagnosed every year. There is no cure. YET!

Symptoms include tremors, slow movements, stiffness/rigidity, impaired balance, shuffling walk, and sometimes difficulty with handwriting and speech.
People can learn how to fight the symptoms through specific exercises and habits.



Source: Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape and Islands