If I try to walk in that period it is more difficult than shortly before when I got out of bed. Then as the meds kick in it reverses.

Let me ask a question. As those morning meds are coming on I get a very strong urge to stretch. Over and over. Seemingly, each time it makes things work a little better. If I suppress that urge, however, I don't do as well. Even to the point of not turning on for a couple of extra hours.

I read somewhere that there are sensory nerves at the areas where muscle joins tendon and that they fire when we stretch. It might be interesting to know the cascade from that point. The assumption that the early morning stretch is to protect tissue from damage may be wrong.

Fiona, as a dancer do you know any more than that? And joop, does your wakeup stretches do as mine?

-Rick

Hi Joop,
Hey we may not have the same opinions on PD but at least I am improving my Dutch!! Ik kan alleen een beetje nederlands spreken, Ich kann viel besser deutch sprechen.
I don't want to have too heated a discussion on this so I will just try and explain my comments. On the BBB, it most definitely does discriminate on size of molecule, but in addition, on fat solubility. It is due to the difference in fat solubility of dopamine compared to levodpa. Lipid (fat) soluble molecules, provided they are not too large, can pass the BBB. It is a combimation of size and polarity which determines whether it passes or not.
I agree that muscles are well lubricated, that is why normally they work smoothly. But I feel your experiment with a cup and elastic is simply overcoming the coefficient of friction, as you increase the force. I can't see the relevance to a well lubricted muscle. You say yourself that you are not saying we can't move because of friction. However, I am a chemist, not an engineer, and as I said, I don't want to disagree here, we all simply want a cure!!
Rick, Yes I think rigidity and muscle tone is the same but not friction, that is something else??
Ron

"Rick, Yes I think rigidity and muscle tone is the same but not friction, that is something else??"

I suspect a little of this is semantics and two languages. Now that I think about it, it is odd that words related to physics also have meanings in this arena. We speak of friction between people. Of overcoming inertia in a personal motivational sense. Of an idea gaining momentum. Of the gravity of a situation. Hmm....

Joop, you mentioned the Haas work. Could you tell me more or point me to a link? I received that vibro-acoustic vest two days ago and have already hacked it. I have bolted it to a piece of plywood (2' x 3') and suspended it between two supports. I can lie my upper body on it and it does have promise.

It got me to thinking- There are a lot of old, unpowered speakers at the local thrift stores for very cheap prices. About four big ones supported from below and bolted to a 3 x 8 piece of plywood and wired to a good amplifier might be an interesting experiment...

Hi Rick,

I’m very curious about that vibro-acoustic vest you bought. Where did you get it and does it work.

This links to the research of Haas:

http://www.uni-frankfurt.de/fb/fb05/...rol__in_PD.pdf

Joop

joop-
Thanks for the link. You might try googling the different forms of vibro acoustics (hyphen too). Several interesting pdfs turn up.

The vest came off ebay for $20 US but it doesn't do the job as is and I have a better idea. Basically it is a sturdy bass speaker in a wearable housing. But its contact is limited to the upper back. I cut the straps off and bolted it to a piece of plywood the size of my upper body - big improvement. But I had even better results with the powered subwoofer from my computer speakers. Next step is to find a couple more at a local thrift store.

I have used it twice. Yesterday and today. One doesn't need to strong a music - classical piano works, rock will loosen teeth. It does relax you but after 15 minutes my tremor started so too much may be possible.

joop- Thanks for the Haas paper. I have definitely been overdoing it by his guidelines.

Today I tried standing on the vibrating board instead of lying on it. If anything, it was more effective in that the skelton carried the vibration throughout my body. Ths is similar to the vibrating plate technology Ron and I looked at. It also takes up far less space so a board of about two feet square is sufficient. Put legs on it and bolt a subwoofer securely to the bottom and you are ready to go.

I tested it with Haas in mind. Had a bit of music five minutes in length. Stood on the board for one minute and sat and relaxed four and half. Repeated a total of five times.

I was off when I began and was waiting for meds to kick in but they were taking their time. First time on the board and no miracles but i did seem a little more relaxed during the first break. After the second session and with a little difficulty I managed to make it to the bathroom! By the fifth session completion I was fully on! Maybe entirely coincidence. Maybe not.

Hello,

it's been a while since I have visited this site. In the meantime I worked out my theory a bit further in my Blog
It explains a bit more how friction works or might work. To illustrate this I wrote a program to simulate the effect of vibrations on acurate movements.. Beside this I constructed a neural network in excel. This is nearly finished and also illustrates the effects of adding vibrations to movement.
I also purchased a vibrating board (ebay 20€) and at the moments I'm performing some experiments with this board.

Joop

Good to have you back and I will visit your blog shortly. You may wish to check mine out at A Matter of Balance.
How did the holiday go?
-Rick