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.
Continue reading “Improve Parkinson’s Stiff Back and Eye-Tracking Issues With This Seated Noodle Exercise”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!”
When we are under attack or in danger, the sympathetic nervous system kicks in. It creates 1,500 different chemical and physical reactions to help avoid physical harm. Ever thought you heard something in the dark? Your heart races, your breathing increases, and then you find out it’s just the cat. Your body thought there was danger and the sympathetic nervous system was activated. Isolated moments like this is natural, but trouble starts when this response is constantly provoked by day-to-day events. When we are stressed by our thoughts and worries, the body perceives these thoughts as real threats can cause serious health problems. Such as: Continue reading “The Best (and Free) Way to Reduce Stress”
Many people with Parkinson’s disease struggle with frozen shoulder and impingement from the forward stooped posture and tight chest. This chest tightness prevents the shoulder from rotating correctly, resulting in terrible pain, dysfunction, and can keep you from participating in your regular exercises. Using a pool noodle cut in half, you can improve and prevent Parkinson’s shoulder impingement with this seated or standing exercise.
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