With Parkinson’s disease, the upper back gets really rigid and stiff. This rigidity, compounded by forward rounding, prevents it from rotating correctly. As a result, the lower back (designed to stabilize, not rotate) must take over, leading to lower back pain. Using pool noodles, this seated exercise can help treat upper back rotation.
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With Parkinson’s disease, the rib cage gets stiff and flexes forward, causing a lack of rotation in the spine. This stiffness, compounded by the “lats” (the muscles in your back that attach to your arms) getting tethered down, causes difficulty when reaching and straightening your arms. When you can’t rotate in your upper back (thoracic spine), your body will start to compensate by rotating and extending parts of your body that are not meant to rotate. This almost always results in shoulder or back pain.
Furthermore, the eyes may have difficulty tracking a moving or stationary object or finding the next line in a book when reading.
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Tight hip flexors are a huge problem for people with Parkinson’s disease. Many of my fighters complain of hip and back issues that stem from tight psoas and other hip flexor muscles.
Continue reading “How to Use Balls to Release Tight Parkinson’s Hip Flexors”
My clients ask for an easy stretch they can do in the morning or evening that will help with the rounding forward posture and back pain Parkinson’s disease can cause. It’s very common so I started doing this exercise with all my private clients and integrating it into my boxing classes. It’s easy and gets to those pesky psoas muscles that get overly tight especially on people with PD.
Continue reading “Beginner Hip Flexor Stretch for Parkinson’s”My Early Bird Young Onset boxing class often see me rolling out my feet when they arrive to class. They ask me, “Oh, do your feet hurt?” My answer is, “No, I’m preventing that from happening.” This is a routine I do every morning and night to prevent foot pain and cramps.
Do not take your feet and ankles for granted. You put all your weight on them and expect them to track correctly as you walk, stand, lunge, jump, and even bike. Your feet help calibrate the alignment of the rest of your body. The bones of your feet move with every step influencing how your ankles, knees, hips and spine move and align with one another.
With Parkinson’s Disease feet can cramp, pain, tingle, tremor, pronate, curl up, and collapse due to neuromuscular disconnect, tight tissue, and faulty gait mechanics. Why would you ignore such an important part of your body which can affect your balance and quality of life? You must treat your feet.
Continue reading “Hamstrings and Calves Tight Due To Parkinson’s? Address Your Feet!”