Parkinson’s Physical Therapy
Parkinson’s Physical Therapy
Physical therapy plays a crucial role in the management of Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that primarily affects movement. The goal of physical therapy for individuals with Parkinson's disease is to improve and maintain mobility, reduce stiffness and rigidity, enhance balance and coordination, and address other movement-related challenges.
Overall, physical therapy can help with the following:
- Increasing endurance
- Strengthening muscles
- Reducing muscle stiffness
- Improving gait
- Reducing freezing episodes
- Improving balance and coordination
- Increasing flexibility
- Improving posture
- Decreasing falls
- Reducing pain
Because physical therapy improves motor skills and decreases pain, you can expect it to help with many of your regular activities, such as getting up from a chair, climbing stairs and getting into and out of a car.
Physical therapy can also improve other symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease, such as depression, anxiety and fatigue. Lastly, it can help with other health issues that impair mobility, like joint pain.
Doctors recommend beginning an evidence-based physical therapy program as soon as possible. Exercise can induce neuroplasticity, or the brain's ability to change in response to behavioral changes. When you begin physical therapy, your brain learns new ways to move and think.
