It’s well known that Parkinson’s disease can affect the voice and swallowing. This can cause significant communication problems, reduced social interactions, and isolation—not to mention choking if your swallowing is affected. With PD, you must work your mouth, tongue, and throat the same way you work muscles in the rest of your body.

Weak hip muscles are strongly correlated with decreased balance and an increased risk of falls. This is because the hip abductors, extensors, and flexors are crucial for maintaining stability and controlling movement during activities like walking and standing. When these muscles are weak, individuals may struggle to maintain a stable posture, leading to balance issues.

Balance is a complex interaction between many systems in the human body: our feet read the ground, our eyes and ears tell us where we are in space, and our core strength affects posture. With Parkinson’s, any of these systems can contribute to balance issues and falling.

With Parkinson’s comes the dreaded stiffness and rigidity of muscles and other connective tissue. It can be miserable and very painful.  As many of my readers with Parkinson’s and their families know, it affects balance, gait, breathing, gut mobility, and mood.