With Parkinson’s disease, the upper back gets really rigid and stiff. This rigidity, compounded by forward rounding, prevents the upper back from rotating correctly. As a result, the lower back (which is designed to stabilize, not rotate) must take over, leading to lower back pain.

Don’t take your feet and ankles for granted. They carry your weight and guide your alignment with every step, affecting how your ankles, knees, hips, and spine move together.

Balance is a complex process that relies on many systems working together in the body. When you walk, you naturally turn your head, use your eyes and ears, and gain information from your feet so that your brain understands where you are in space. This awareness is called proprioception.

Training for Parkinson’s (and overall brain health) works best when it’s functional and varied. That means practicing movements your body actually uses in daily life—standing up from a chair, turning, reaching, walking while looking around, carrying objects, and changing directions. Functional training helps the brain and body communicate more effectively, improving balance, coordination, and confidence in real-world situations.

In my Balance Builders course, it’s clear to my students that Parkinson’s really affects what they want to do with their bodies when they’re trying to execute a particular drill. Balance is a complex process that relies on many systems working together in the body to regain special awareness or proprioception.