Can exercise and massage benefit patients with final stage of Parkinson’s Disease?
January 27, 2010 by Massage Maven
Filed under massage benefit
My father is 81 and has PD for the last 3 years. He can’t even move his hands & legs. what should i do? The doctor says he will be bedridden. Pls help.
Try foot reflexology.
http://healthmad.com/conditions-and-diseases/multiple-sclerosis-what-can-you-do/
Scroll down to the middle of page to watch the video
Parkinson’s Disease deals with the nervous system. Exercise does not help or hurt the nervous system, but is beneficial for the rest of the body. Massage stimulate blood flow and can help the nerves. Heat helps as well, a hot compress can do wonders for PD pain.
There isn’t much you can do at this point except make him comfrotable.
I am curious though, has he been diagnosed with the final stages? Usually PD has an 8 year maturity rate.
I have a feeling that you are feeling totally lost in the progress of your father’s condition and the “help” he is getting from his doctor.
First: make sure that if you are his caregiver or even secondary caregiver that your father has signed the release at his doctors’ offices to enable you to discuss his treatment with them. Once it is too late, it becomes more difficult.
Second: make sure that your father has a caregiver who in turn has back-up.
There are no rules for PD. The progression and symptoms are individualized. There is, however, some standard guidelines and if your father can’t move his legs, he won’t be able to get out of bed and if he can’t move his hands, he will have an even more difficult time dressing and feeding himself.
The prognosis does not sound that good for your father. If he was been diagnosed with Parkinson’s 3 years ago, he probably has been developing (had) the condition for several. He probably attributed the symptoms to aging. This would not be surprising as in a way PD is a form of accelerated aging.
The good news is that exercise and certainly massage therapy may be of great benefit.
Let’s begin with massage therapy. Ask his neurologist for a referral to a medical massage therapist who is familiar with Parkinson’s disease. If your father can afford it, he should be massaged twice a week. While the benefits will be slow to be seen, a good therapist will slowly be able to ease rigid muscles to provide relief from stiffness and pain. The next phase will be to improve range of motion. Throughout the process there will be more endorphins produced which will help your father feel better both physically and mentally. The therapist will focus on the entire body with special attention to his hands and legs – possibly through shoulders and back – to enable freer movement.
If your father is willing, dance therapy has been beneficial even for patients who arrive using walkers.
That doesn’t mean that he will leave walking but it will help him to feel better about himself.
The most beneficial exercises for PD patients can be found in certain yoga exercises which focus on breathing, stretching, range of motion. Because PD patients often have balance issues, many of these exercises can be done seated or prone at least to start. There are other exercises which can be done while seated. The important thing is that exercises must be done daily. There are enough exercises that the routine can be varied over the course of a week.
If your father has access to the right equipment, he might try Forced Exercise. I’m going to provide links to several articles about exercise and forced exercise, some have links to other information.
Do not neglect diet and nutritional supplements which if given a reasonable trial might help as well.
Certainly get a referral to a speech therapist because if your father’s body is stiffening he may also be having trouble swallowing.
Have you had a 2nd opinion from a doctor who is willing to take a more active role in assisting your father develop a treatment program?
Forced Exercise
http://parkinsonsfocustoday.blogspot.com/2009/05/forced-exercise-to-relieve-parkinsons.html
Treaments for PD
http://parkinsonsfocustoday.blogspot.com/2009/12/treatments-for-parkinsons-disease.html
Chair Exercises for PD – there are a few articles for your review here:
http://parkinsonsfocustoday.blogspot.com/search/label/Chair%20Exercises%20for%20PD
Vocal Aerobics
http://parkinsonsfocustoday.blogspot.com/2009/05/voice-exercises-will-help-parkinsons.html
You will not have an easy time wading through all of these suggestions. And at the site above you will find many other articles to both assist and confuse you. Don’t be afraid to enlist another family member or friend to organize this journey.
I’m glad you asked this question now while there appears to be time to help.
I can be reached through Yahoo Answers and also through Contact Us at the site above.