Category: Fitness

I received so much positive feedback and great questions about foam rollers and the “Open the Newspaper” exercise, I want to keep on this theme and show you another great exercise to treat Parkinson’s rounded shoulders called “Pulling Back the Reins.” No, it doesn’t require any equestrian experience, but like horseback riding, it will require some core engagement to balance.

You can find a foam roller near the exercise equipment at sporting goods stores. You want one that is stiff enough to hold its shape when you lie on it, but soft enough to be comfortable and 36 inches long. Continue reading “Hold Your Horses! Prevent and Treat Parkinson’s Rounded Shoulders by “Pulling Back the Reins””

With Parkinson’s disease, we often see the forward rounding shoulders, a hunched back and forward lurched neck and head. These are the first three perpetrators of upper back pain. When your head leads in front of your shoulders, it puts an extra 10 pounds of weight on your neck muscles for every inch you move forward. As you can imagine pain will result in your neck, your upper back, shoulders and can even extend down your spine as your body is being overstretched and weakened by this posture. It also can lead to falls because the body mass is leading forward.

Here is a great way to mobilize rigid vertebrae and ribs in the upper back. It’s called “Open the Newspaper” on the foam roller.

Foam roller exercises and stretches are some of the easiest and most effective ways to relieve upper thoracic pain. It can also help loosen your shoulders and neck. Using a foam roller is also known as a “self-myofascial release,” which eases pain by loosening the soft tissue portion of the connective tissue in your muscles. It also can improve blood and lymphatic circulation and stimulate the stretch reflex in your muscles. Continue reading “Want to Prevent or Treat Parkinson’s Rounded Shoulders? Grab a Foam Roller and “Open the Newspaper!””