Jun 25, 2014 (Started Jun 01, 2009)

  • Effectiveness
    Major (for Improve mobility)
  • 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
    Usually
  • Burden
    Not at all hard to take
Dosage: 30 min Weekly
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 5 things: 1. Balance exercises; 2. Walking with weights; 3. Walking on my heels; 4. Walking on my toes; 5. Walking backwards and sideways. Here were the descriptions of what I do: 1. Balance exercises A. Every other day, I swing a 10-lb dumbbell around my waist while standing on one leg -(2 sets of 60 sec each on left leg, one set of 60 sec on right leg). The other day I do the exercises on a wobble board. Most day I also attempt to stand on each leg for 60 sec with my eyes closed (I stand in a corner and put my hands out for balance.B. 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 before the rest of my workout; I do B before and after. 2. Walking with weights A. I walk with 20-lb dumbbells for about 5 minutes before the rest of my workout. Most days I also walk with 10-lb dumbbells for 5 minutes before the rest of my workout. 3. Walking on my heels. I walk on my heels for five minutes after my workout. 4. Walking on my toes I walk on my toes for about five minutes every other day after the rest of my workout. 5. Walking backwards and sideways. Most weeks I will, a couple of times a week, walk backwards for twp or three minutes, walk sideways to the left for two minutes, and walk sideways to the right for two minutes. I do this after the rest of my workout.
Cost: < $25 monthly

Feb 10, 2014 (Started Jun 01, 2009)

  • 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

Sep 25, 2012 (Started Jun 01, 2009)

  • 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

Dec 1, 2011 (Started Jun 01, 2009)

  • 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

  • 2 helpful marks