What is Parkinson’s Disease and who is at risk?
Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative neurological condition that affects the brain’s ability to produce dopamine, a chemical that plays a crucial role in smooth and coordinated movement. While primarily affecting the motor system, Parkinson’s can also affect non-motor parts of the brain, leading to a range of symptoms.
What are the symptoms of Parkinson’s?
Symptoms can be divided into motor and non-motor symptoms.
Motor symptoms include:
- Tremors
- Reduction in speed of movement (bradykinesia)
- Reduced balance
Non-motor symptoms include:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Difficulty sleeping
- Decline in cognitive ability including memory and speed of mental processing
- Changes to mental health
Who is at risk?
The risk of Parkinson’s disease increases with age, with people from 70 to 79 years of age being most at risk. The disease affects more than 1% of people of the age of 50 years.
Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of Parkinson’s, and physical inactivity is a modifiable risk factor.
How to manage Parkinson’s Disease
- Regular exercise
- Resistance training
- Individualized exercise prescription
Resistance training has multiple desirable benefits for people managing Parkinson’s, including:
- increased neural recruitment and firing rate (leading to improved nerve pathways)
- increase in muscle size
- increase in muscle strength
All of these benefits decrease muscle atrophy and reduce motor function loss which can limit people’s ability to undertake daily tasks and overall independence.
Cardiorespiratory training has also been found to be beneficial for managing Parkinson’s.
Regular cardio training has been found to:
- increase overall fitness
- improve cardiac function
- alleviate symptoms such as orthostatic hypotension (drop in blood pressure from the change of posture)
- reduce fatigue levels
Resistance and cardiorespiratory training help maintain independence for people with Parkinson’s by supporting their ability to perform daily tasks such as standing, walking, climbing stairs or even getting in and out of the car.
Exercise also has a profound effect on non-motor-related symptoms.
Dual Tasking – simultaneous motor task challenges
A great way to further support positive adaptation in individuals with Parkinson’s is through dual tasking.
Dual tasking is the term used to describe an activity or exercise where you are challenged by performing cognitive and/or motor tasks simultaneously. An example of dual tasking would be tandem walking whilst naming capital cities in Europe or balancing on one leg whilst throwing and catching a ball. Dual-task training has been shown to improve gait, balance, and other motor function symptoms for people with Parkinson’s. As dual tasking can be challenging, please discuss whether dual tasking is suitable for your exercise program with your accredited exercise physiologist before attempting it.
Exercise has been shown to improve sleep, anxiety, depression and overall quality of life for people with Parkinson’s.
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It should be noted that although exercise can have positive physiological effects on both motor and non-motor symptoms, Parkinson’s presents differently in each individual. For this reason, it is recommended that people with Parkinson’s should seek individualised exercise prescription from an exercise expert.
An exercise expert such as an exercise physiologist will assess your current physical capacity, disease stage, injuries and symptoms and develop a plan for the safest way to support you to achieve your movement goals using appropriate exercise prescription.
REFERENCES
Gamborg, M., Hvid, L. G., Dalgas, U., & Langeskov-Christensen, M. (2022). Parkinson’s disease and intensive exercise therapy – An uParkinson’sated systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Neurol Scand, 145(5), 504-528. doi:10.1111/ane.13579
Kalyani, H., Sullivan, K., Moyle, G., Brauer, S., Jeffrey, E. R., Roeder, L., . . . Kerr, G. (2019). Effects of dance on gait, cognition, and dual-tasking in Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Parkinson’s disease, 9(2), 335-349.
Tsukita, K., Sakamaki-Tsukita, H., & Takahashi, R. (2022). Long-term Effect of Regular Physical Activity and Exercise Habits in Patients With Early Parkinson Disease. Neurology, 98(8), e859-e871. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000013218
Urell, C., Zetterberg, L., Hellström, K., & Anens, E. (2021). Factors explaining physical activity level in Parkinson´s disease: A gender focus. Physiother Theory Pract, 37(4), 507-516. doi:10.1080/09593985.2019.1630875
Wu, P. L., Lee, M., Wu, S. L., Ho, H. H., Chang, M. H., Lin, H. S., & Huang, T. T. (2021). Effects of home-based exercise on motor, non-motor symptoms and health-related quality of life in Parkinson’s disease patients: A randomized controlled trial. Jpn J Nurs Sci, e12418. doi:10.1111/jjns.12418