• Effectiveness

  Moderate (for freezing of gait)
• Effectiveness

  Major (for dystonia)
• Effectiveness

  Moderate (for Parkinson's disease)
• Effectiveness

  Major (for balance problems)
• Side effects

  None (for Overall)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  Not at all hard to take

Dosage: 30 min Monthly

Advice & Tips: I am putting this in a separate category from my regular workout routine. I do this to reduce dystonia and to reduce freezing. My Home Physical Therapy consists of 4 things: 1. Balance exercises; 2. Walking with weights; 3. Walking on my heels; 4. Walking on my toes: Here are the descriptions of what I do: 1. Balance exercises A. I swing a 10-lb dumbbell around my waist while standing on one leg -(2 sets of 30 sec each on right leg, 2 sets of 60 sec each on left leg). B. Standing on wobble board (2 sets of 30 sec each on right leg, 2 sets of 60 sec each on left leg). C. Spins I spin clockwise once, then counter-clockwise once; then I spin CW twice and CCW twice; then CW three times and CCW three times; then CW five times and CCW five times. I do A and B before the rest of my workout; I do C before and after. 2. Walking with weights A. I walk with 15-lb dumbbells for 2-3 minutes B. I walk backward with 5-lb dumbbells for 2-3 minutes I do A and B before the rest of my workout. 3. Walking on my heels A. I walk on my heels for one minute before the rest of my workout B. I walk on my heels for five minutes after I'm done 4. Walking on my toes I walk on my toes for about a minute before the rest of my workout

Cost: < $25 monthly

• Effectiveness

  Moderate (for Parkinson's disease)
• Effectiveness

  Moderate (for dystonia)
• Side effects

  Mild (for Overall) (uncomfortable)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  A little hard to take

Dosage: 30 min Monthly

Advice & Tips: I follow a specific program to reduce my dystonia. See http://home.earthlink.net/~strkl/ for it.

Cost: < $25 monthly

• Effectiveness

  Moderate (for dystonia)
• Side effects

  Moderate (for Overall) (uncomfortable)
• Adherence

  Usually
• Burden

  Somewhat hard to take

Dosage: 30 min Monthly

Advice & Tips: My dystonia is worse in my left foot. It becomes pigeon-toed (pointing inward), and tends to twist so that I land on the outside of my foot when walking. In fact, I need to be careful that my ankle doesn't roll over (twisting my ankle). If I concentrate on landing more to the inside of my foot, and trying to keep my foot straight, I can continue to walk for a while. I've worked up to the point where I can walk for a mile or more this way. And I've found that I seem to have built up resistance to dystonia. I can exercise at higher intensity, or for a longer time, before getting dystonia. It used to be that once I went into dystonia, I would have to stop walking or running and finish my workout on an exercise bike or elliptical machine. And I would not be able to walk normally until I took my next dose and waited 30 to 60 minutes for it to take effect. (And it would be preferable to take my next dose immediately, or it would take two hours for me to come on then.) But now, even after pushing through the dystonia, once I shower and change, my dystonia is gone, and I can take my medication on my usual schedule. I do this as part of my regular exercise routine, not as Home Physical Therapy. I've just entered it this way because it seems to be the only way I can do so. I wrote about this in more detail at http://www.patientslikeme.com/forum/pd/topics/100055?post_id=1535080#post-1535080

Cost: < $25 monthly