Personal experience and research continue to prove the essence of physical exercises for patients with Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s is a neurological condition that leads to a variety of mobility-related symptoms including rigidity in the legs or arms, difficulty with balance or walking, and resting tremors. These symptoms can progress slowly, and eventually cause you to lose independence and lead to significant disability. As the disease progresses, you may have difficulty talking and walking.
While there is no cure available for this neurological condition, studies have shown that regular physical exercise can assist you to manage your symptoms and even slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease. A personal trainer can help you through the specialized movement exercises for Parkinson’s disease to increase your strength, mobility, and balance. This post will help you explore how you can add specific exercises for Parkinson’s disease and prolong your independence.
Movement Training specific to Parkinson’s may be right for you if:
- You are newly diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and want to suppress the symptoms.
- You are having problems with your body’s balance and its affecting your well-being and daily activities.
- You feel like you are losing your self-independence.
- You want the premium quality of life as you age.
- You don’t want to lose your sense of freedom.
Best Movement Exercises for People with Parkinson’s Disease
Exercise is a structured, repetitive, planned activity that aims to improve your physical fitness. So, there is no “right” exercise for patients with Parkinson’s. Everyone’s workout routine will differ, based on symptoms, overall health, and level of fitness or previous activity.
To help ease the symptoms of disease, your Parkinson’s exercise routine should include any of the following crucial components:
1. Aerobic activity for Parkinson’s disease
Aerobic activities involve exercises that challenge or improve your cardiorespiratory system (lungs and heart) such as running, cycling, walking, or swimming. They incorporate activities that involve regular rhythmic movements that help to improve your heart rate over time.
These rhythmic movements can help to enhance your fitness levels and can also boost some aspects of your motor function. In fact, studies show that vigorous and moderate-intensity aerobic workouts are especially beneficial for patients with Parkinson’s disease.
2. Flexibility and Stretching Exercises
It is common for people with Parkinson’s to develop tight calf muscles, hip flexors and hamstrings. To avoid that stiffness, you need to stretch out at regular intervals throughout the day. Ask a professional trainer who offers Parkinson’s disease management services to guide you through the stretching and flexibility exercises.
3. Strength Training
Your muscle mass tends to reduce with age, so strength training is vital for everyone. But research shows that muscle weakness is a major problem for people with Parkinson’s disease. Depending on the stage of the disease you are in, a personal trainer may have you do resistance exercises with a resistance band or with light dumbbells. Pool-based sessions, and utilizing the water’s resistance to strengthen your muscles can also be a good option.
Strength training involves exercises that use your body weight to increase muscle strength and mass. Performing strength workouts twice a week, beginning with low weight and repetition, may be vital in Parkinson’s disease. You should focus on the muscles of the back or extensor muscles that can assist you with posture problems. Some examples of strength exercises for different muscle groups may include; biceps curls, pull-ups, leg presses, and squats.
Balance Exercises for Parkinson’s patients
Maintaining proper balance is particularly crucial to help reduce or avoid the risk of falling. So, besides building strong muscles via strength training, mobility and balance exercises are essential for enhancing stability.
Fall prevention is one of the fundamental objectives of balance exercises for people with Parkinson’s disease. That’s why we recommend we hire a qualified personal trainer to know which Parkinson’s balance exercises are suitable for you. Personal trainers will concentrate on assisting you to strengthen your ankles while improving your ability to prevent falls.
Examples of specialized movement exercises that help people with Parkinson’s disease to improve balance include dance classes, yoga, Tia chi, pilates, and boxing.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological condition that inhibits mobility. As the condition progresses, you can experience both cognition and movement changes. Some exercises that can help enhance your cognition and memory include; meditation, reading aloud, playing board games, and puzzles.
Work with a Personal Trainer to Create a Specialized Movement Exercises Plan for Parkinson’s
Personal trainers are experts who can help Parkinson’s patients get moving. While many people think the specialized movement is just for helping you recover after an injury, it is a crucial part of preventive treatment and cares for people with chronic ailments-like Parkinson’s disease.
At Restorative Strength LLC, we understand your experience with Parkinson’s. A personal therapist or trainer can help with managing Parkinson’s disease by customizing a specialized movement training plan for you. They will teach you particular exercises to manage your unique symptoms and help you remain active.
A personal trainer, particularly one with experience in specialized movement training for people with Parkinson’s disease, can assist you to customize an exercise plan to avoid injury, make sure you are doing the right movement exercises, and organize it to make sure that you are making the most out of the plan.
Our specialized movement training for Parkinson’s disease may help you improve your:
- Balance: We teach different exercises that focus on the trunk and legs that can help improve your stability.
- Core strength: We will teach you top movement patterns that will help to improve strength and stability.
- Gait: Our personal trainers will offer several gait training exercises to help you walk safely and normally.
- Flexibility: A personal trainer will teach you stretching exercises that will help to enhance your flexibility.
- Posture: You will learn balance exercises for Parkinson’s disease that will help to improve your posture.
If you need specialized movement training for Parkinson’s patients, schedule a free consultation with PJ to help you get the most out of your routine today.
