Exercise

By Maria Cristina Ospina, MD

Recently I have had many questions about exercise in the clinic. I cannot say enough good things about exercise. In my opinion it is as important to your overall well-being as any medication we may prescribe for you. Because rigidity, stiffness and bradykinesia (slowness of movement) are part of Parkinson’s disease it is very important to participate in any form of daily exercise, even if it amounts to nothing more than doing range of motion exercises in a chair. By doing some form of exercise every day you build up stamina which will help you throughout the day, especially during those “off” periods. Keeping your muscles toned also will help with gait and balance and they will be less likely to atrophy and waste away. What you want to avoid is falling into a cycle that leads to losing muscle mass and strength, feeling depleted, walking slowly, losing weight and doing less every day. It is imperative that you do not let the rigidity and stiffness take over as these can lead to freezing of joints and contractures.

Exercise not only helps your joints and muscles but also improves your posture. Improved posture allows you to take normal breaths, therefore having a louder voice and an easier time swallowing. Exercise also helps you digest and improves the transit time of the gut, decreasing your chances of getting constipated.

Exercise also helps make new connections in the brain, keeping that dreaded dementia far, far away. Not only does exercise help you think better but it helps you sleep better, too. Many people find that exercising in the afternoon helps with their symptoms of insomnia and helps them achieve a more restful sleep.

Exercising with groups also provides a social outlet for you and a reason to get out of the house. Following is a list of some of the exercise opportunities out there. Ask your doctor what would be a good program for you. Exercise programs can be tailored to fit everyone’s needs, from those who are still running marathons to those who are bed bound.

Vicki’s Exercise Challenge

As I have toured Wisconsin and neighboring states visiting Parkinson support groups, I have been spending a lot of time talking about exercise: Lee Silverman Voice Therapy as a way to exercise the voice, Fundamental Tai Chi and Yoga as a way to stay limber and a variety of ways, including treadmill for those that can use it, for improving the gait. I have been extremely gratified on my return visits to groups, or when speaking to people in the Regional Center at Aurora Sinai, to hear about what you are actually doing in terms of exercise. You are finding the places in your communities that offer classes appropriate for your needs – pools at the YMCA or various health centers and exercise classes at senior centers. I have met many, many couples who have gotten the message and have decided that exercise is not only good for the person with PD, but it is good for their care partners as well. They are exercising together either at home with tapes or DVDs or going out to a health club or high school that offers classes. I am very proud of you all. Jackie and I would like to begin maintaining a list of all the places at which you are exercising so we can offer those sources to others. Would you take time to drop us a note, an email or phone message?

Now to the challenge. I am proud of you; but I doubt that you can be proud of me. I stand before you and stretch my limbs and demonstrate techniques for a few moments at each visit. Then I get in my car and drive for an hour or two or six. Then I take the elevator up to my apartment or office and sit on my sofa or at my desk for several more hours. I go to bed, get up in the morning and do this all over again. Sit, sit, sit. My terrible confession is that I don’t exercise. I have a pool and a work-out room in my apartment building and I don’t exercise. I have a beautiful parkway with walking paths one block from my apartment building and I don’t exercise. I do exercise my brain. I do exercise my social connections. I do exercise my spiritual self. But my body is getting bigger and rounder and harder to lug around.

Will you agree to take this exercise challenge with me? Can we challenge each other to start moving our bodies – in a pool, up the stairs, on a bike, on the treadmill, to music, through the park, at the mall, in a class. You have my permission to ask me any/every day, “what exercise did you do today and for how long/” You have my encouragement to report the same back to me.

Printed with the permission of the author and the Wisconsin Parkinson Association from “The Network”, a publication of the Regional Parkinson Center, Milwaukee, WI.

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