Parkinson's: Unlock Your Stability with Strength Training

Are you living with Parkinson's and concerned about balance and coordination? This episode of the Live Parkinson's - Live an Exceptional Life podcast dives deep into how strength training can be a game-changer for improving stability and reducing fall risk. Join your host as, Chris Kustanbauter as we explore practical exercises, expert tips, and empowering strategies to help you move with greater confidence.

• Key Topics Covered:
  • Understanding the connection between strength and balance in Parkinson's
  • Effective strength training exercises for Parkinson's (squats, lunges, core work, and more!)
  • Modifications and adaptations for different fitness levels and abilities
  • Overcoming fear of falling and building confidence in movement
  • The importance of working with healthcare professionals and physical therapists

Are you ready to take control of your balance and live a more active life with Parkinson's? This episode provides the tools and inspiration you need to get started.

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#Parkinsons #ParkinsonsDisease #StrengthTraining #Balance #Coordination #FallPrevention #Exercise #PhysicalTherapy #ParkinsonsExercise #ParkinsonsAwareness #LiveParkinsons #MovementDisorders #NeurodegenerativeDisease #Health #Wellness #Fitness #Mobility #Stability #ActiveAging #OvercomingParkinsons #ParkinsonsCommunity

Chapters

• 0:11 Parkinson's Balance and Strength Training
• 14:51 Core Strength for Parkinson's Patients
• 20:25 Improving Balance and Coordination Exercises
• 34:02 Parkinson's Information and Support Network

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:11

Hello and welcome to Live Parkinson's Live an Exceptional Life, the podcast dedicated to helping you live a great quality of life through strategies, stories and science. I'm your host, chris Kastenbader, and I've been living with Parkinson's for 15 years. Today's topic is Parkinson's Unlock your stability with strength training. Imagine this You're walking through your favorite park, the sun is shining, everything feels steady and you're enjoying your walk with your friend, and you both notice a fox and her cubs playing in a field. You both decide to step off the paved path and watch the foxes play. But as you step off the path you suddenly feel wobbly in your balance folders and you're not feeling real confident about going any further. Your friend notices but, to deflect any embarrassment, says we should probably leave them play and return to the path. With a forced smile, you say yes, you're right, let's go. Does this sound familiar, where you feel confident and stable when you're walking but whenever the terrain changes you notice you're not as stable as before? For many living with Parkinson's, this is a common occurrence. It can leave you feeling fearful that you may fall and make you want to avoid situations like this in the future. But what if I told you you can take control? What if you could build strength, boost your stability and regain that confidence? In this episode, we're diving into how strength training can be a game changer for your balance and coordination. It's not just about lifting weights. It's about unlocking your body's potential to move with stability and freedom. So if you experience balance and stability issues, I hope you'll join me on today's journey into how strength training can help you with your mobility, balance, sense of freedom and independence.

Speaker 1: 1:59

Ok, let's talk about the elephant on the table Strength training. I know for many people that when they hear the word strength training, suddenly they get visions of people grunting in the gym, lifting heavy weights in front of a mirror, dropping them on the floor and then pacing around until it's time for the next set. Now I certainly understand people's fear and trepidation with strength training. I'll be honest growing up playing high school and college football, yes, I've lifted my share of heavy weights, but as I've gotten older and, hopefully, wiser, strength training has really taken on a new meaning. Do I still lift weights? Sure, but they're light weights that I can just do more repetitions with. But I also do strength training with body weight exercises, resistance bands or sometimes, depending on what I'm doing, just using household items. So hopefully, this episode will help alleviate your fears. And remember strength training doesn't have to be done at the gym. You can do it in the comfort of your own home with either a personalized exercise plan or an online version.

Speaker 1: 3:06

So, with all that said, chris, what will we be discussing in this episode? I'm going to break it down into three major segments. First, we'll lead it off with segment one, on understanding balance and coordination in Parkinson's. I'll explain the physiological changes that affect balance in Parkinson's and then highlight the importance of balance and coordination. Then we'll transition into segment two, on strength training for improved balance and coordination. I'll provide some key exercises for balance and coordination and their benefits and provide you with some safe and effective training tips and strategies. Finally, we'll move into segment three and address common concerns and where you can find support and additional resources.

Speaker 1: 3:47

Now, before we dive in, I did want to provide this disclaimer because I want to keep everyone safe. Please do not start any new exercise or balance program before reviewing it with your health care professional to ensure it is appropriate for your specific needs. Also, please ensure that you are doing any exercises with supervision for your safety. All right Now. I did want to preface that the key exercises that I'm providing were done in conjunction and reviewed with a certified fitness trainer who specializes in working with people with Parkinson's. So I don't want you thinking I'm giving you exercises that I made up or are way too difficult for people with Parkinson's. So I don't want you thinking I'm giving you exercises that I made up or are way too difficult for people with Parkinson's.

Speaker 1: 4:29

Okay, now that we put that out of the way, let's dive in and get started. So here's a question for you why do people with Parkinson's have balance and coordination problems? How do we go from someone who has had no problems with balance all her life and then slowly begin to have issues like stumbling, tripping and falling? Well, oftentimes, as with a lot of things in life, it's not one specific thing, but a combination of things that occur over time. You may have heard the saying it's the little things that add up. Well, with Parkinson's, it's similar.

Speaker 1: 5:02

There are often a series of physiological changes that take place that add up and lead to balance and coordination problems. Let's look at these individually so we have a better understanding of what's occurring. Let's start off with reduced strength and flexibility. Now, why do we lose strength and flexibility and our muscles become rigid with Parkinson's flexibility and our muscles become rigid with Parkinson's. Muscle stiffness or rigidity is the result of muscle stiffening and the remaining tightened over extended periods of time. So, according to the article how Does Parkinson's Disease Affect the Body published in Medical News Today, the author Jennifer Fletcher states that muscle stiffness is one of the most common symptoms of Parkinson's disease. An estimated 90% of people with Parkinson's disease experience muscle stiffness at least once in their lifetime. Okay, why do 90% of people with Parkinson's get muscle stiffness?

Speaker 1: 5:58

Here are some of the physiological changes that occur, causing stiffness and reduced strength. First is loss of dopaminergic neurons. According to the article Parkinson's Disease Pathophysiology published at news-medicalnet by Dr Mandel MD, parkinson's disease is primarily associated with the gradual loss of cells in the substantia nigra. The area is responsible for the production of dopamine, and dopamine is a chemical messenger that transmits signals between two regions of the brain to coordinate activity. For example, it connects the substantia nigra and the corpus stratum to regulate muscle activity. The deficiency of dopamine leads to impaired motor control, which can then result in muscle stiffness and reduced strength.

Speaker 1: 6:47

Number two is, as if the loss of dopaminergic neurons wasn't bad enough, another physiological change, basal ganglia dysfunction can occur. Basal, what? Basal ganglia dysfunction? That doesn't sound good. What is it? Well, basal ganglia are a group of structures deep within our brain that play a vital role in our movement control. Dopamine deficiency, which we just mentioned, leads to reduced muscle activation, which simply means difficulty in recruiting and activating muscle fibers, which result in weakness, and activating muscle fibers, which result in weakness.

Speaker 1: 7:24

And then, finally, neuromuscular changes occur in people with PD. People may experience muscle atrophy, which is the loss of muscle mass and strength due to decreased use of the muscles and alterations in the signals with the neurons. All right, so why is this important? I mean, yes, it's nice to understand the physiological changes, but how does reduced muscle strength impact our daily lives in the forms of balance and coordination? In the research article Strength and Physical Functions in People with Parkinson's Disease, published in Future Neurology at Taylor Francis Online at Taylor and Francis Online, the authors referenced a study that noted the results showed that PD individuals demonstrated lower strength in lower limbs when compared to controls. These results reinforce the fact that strength deficits cause impairments in activities of daily living. The article also notes that diminished strength in people with PD affects their quality of life. Simple tasks such as rising from the chair become difficult, as do all day to day tasks, so let's help to try to keep those muscles strong.

Speaker 1: 8:37

Another physiological change that can affect our balance and coordination is impaired sensory function, like our vision, and proprioception. Proprio, what Proprioception, in simple terms, is like your body's sixth sense. It's your brain's awareness of where your body parts are in space. So imagine touching your nose with your eyes closed. You do this without looking, because your brain knows where your hand and your nose are located. Bam, that's proprioception in action. Proprioception helps us to move slowly and gracefully, like dancing or playing a sport. It helps us maintain our balance, amazingly, even when we're not looking at our feet, and it allows us to coordinate our movements amazingly, even when we're not looking at our feet, and it allows us to coordinate our movements like reaching for a cup of coffee or walking up the stairs.

Speaker 1: 9:28

Vision changes, on the other hand, can also affect our balance. According to the article Vision Changes by the Parkinson's Foundation, some common Parkinson's-related vision changes are double vision, like the song from Foreigner in the 1980s, double Vision, dry eye, blurry vision caused by medication, and trouble voluntarily opening your eyes. So how does vision and proprioception impairments affect your balance and coordination. It causes difficulty navigating environments Impaired vision can make it difficult to judge distance, see obstacles and navigate busy places like restaurants and stores. It can also cause postural instability, because reduced proprioception makes it harder to maintain your balance and adjust to changes in posture, and it can also cause gait disturbances as well to changes in posture, and it can also cause gait disturbances as well.

Speaker 1: 10:26

Now, if you want to learn more about issues with sensory function and balance, listen to my podcast titled the Secret to Better Balance Unlock your Senses. Now the final two physiological changes that can occur and affect our balance and coordination is slowed reaction time, which I don't know about you, but my reaction time is significantly slower than it used to be, and I would definitely not be able to work in the Seattle fish market where they throw the fish at you and you have to catch it, and my opportunity to be an NFL wide receiver or a Major League Baseball catcher are probably out the window as well. And then, in terms of gait, abnormalities that can affect balance are shuffling and freezing. And then, in terms of gait, abnormalities that can affect balance are shuffling and freezing. So if you experience either of these, please make sure your doctor is aware, so that they can help you prevent falls. Now, the reason I wanted to discuss these physiological changes before we got into strength training was to highlight how these changes can have a significant impact on our balance and coordination.

Speaker 1: 11:23

You know, we often don't think of things that we typically do automatically, like, say, for instance, our breathing imbalance. We don't typically sit around saying, okay, chris, it's time to breathe, and we don't typically pay attention to it, unless there's a problem or an issue like shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. And then the alarm bells go off and we instantly know there's a problem. In fact, I just happened to experience that this past week when I developed pneumonia, so I became a little bit more aware of my breathing. Now the same is true for our balance. As long as everything's going fine, we go around happy as can be, but once we start to stumble, trip or fall uh-oh, houston, we have a problem. So balance, even though we often overlook it, like vegetables when the dessert tray comes around it is something that is extremely important in our daily lives. Good balance is going to help us reduce our risk of falls, which can cause some devastating injuries and dramatically affect our quality of life.

Speaker 1: 12:25

So here's a public service announcement from me to you and why preventing falls is so important. Now, my hope is that none of you experience a fall. Here are some sobering statistics on falls. According to the article Fall Prevention and Parkinson's by the Parkinson's Foundation, 60% of people with PD fall every year. And according to the article Parkinson's and Falls Tips and Resources by the parkinsonsorguk, among those who fell, 39% experienced recurrent falls. Some common injuries that falls lead to are fractures, especially hip fractures, which often result in hospitalization and surgeries, head trauma, which I have some experience with, and contusions. Now, in terms of the impact on quality of life, falls can lead to reduced mobility, reduced independence, and can have psychological impacts as well, by potentially leading to anxiety and depression over constant worry of fear of falling. That's why strength and balance training are so important as part of your routine and why I wanted to discuss it with you.

Speaker 1: 13:38

All right, let's switch gears and get into the main focus of this podcast and talk about strength training for improved balance and coordination, and we'll lead it off with some of the key exercises and their benefits, and let's focus on core strength. Core strength what are you talking about, Chris? What in the world is core strength. Well, let's talk about what muscle groups make up your core, without going deep into specific muscles. After all, this isn't a medical school anatomy discussion. Now, the core muscles include your abdominal muscles and, just so you look like a genius the next time you play trivia, the rectus abdominis are your six-pack muscles helping to give you a washboard stomach. Now, my two standard jokes are I don't have six-pack abs, I have a keg. Or I like to protect my abdominal muscles under a two to 3 inch layer of fat so they don't get damaged. Alright. Abdominal muscles also include your obliques think love handles. Other muscle groups that are part of your core include your back muscles, your pelvic floor muscles and your diaphragm, which is the primary muscle of breathing.

Speaker 1: 14:51

So you may be thinking, chris, I have Parkinson's, what does it matter if I have a strong core? Well, that's a fair question, because you don't need to have bodybuilding abs, but a strong core is going to act like a stable foundation for your body and help contribute to your balance and your coordination by improving your posture, because core muscles are used to help us maintain proper posture, which is crucial for our balance. Core muscles also help with our stability when you have strong core muscles, they help give you a stable base which helps you shift your weight smoothly and maintain your balance when doing your daily activities. Core muscles help give us coordination because your upper and lower body are coordinated, helping you reduce the risk of falls. And a strong core is going to help you us reduce the risk of injury by helping to support our spine and help protect it from injury.

Speaker 1: 15:45

Okay, now comes the fun part looking at some of the key exercises to help you develop a nice strong core. Now, before you just dive right into any of these exercises, it's important that you review any new exercises with your healthcare professional first, to make sure that they're appropriate for you. All right, I'm going to be really honest with you, not that I'm never going to be really honest with you, because I don't like to lie, so I'm not going to sugarcoat it here. When you say to most people that we're going to work on core muscles, they immediately start to moan and groan, because we often let our core muscles get weak and that makes exercises to make them stronger seem harder. Now remember the key is to start small and slowly build on our successes. So some of these may seem hard initially, but become easier the stronger you get and the more you do them.

Speaker 1: 16:40

Now the first exercise is planks, and you're probably saying planks, are you kidding me? No, you don't have to do planks like Navy SEALs, where you're on your toes with your leg and your back straight, holding it for minutes on end. They can be done in your knees or even using the wall as modifications. Now why are planks important? For a strong core. Planks are an isometric exercise and that means that you can hold a static or stationary position and you're engaging multiple core muscles at the same time. And here's how they work. They engage multiple muscle groups, including your abdominal, your back, your glute or your butt muscles and your shoulders. Planks help to improve your posture by strengthening some of the muscle groups that we just mentioned. That lead to proper posture, which helps us with our alignment and our balance. Now, most people dread planks because you're working on strengthening multiple muscles at the same time, which can be challenging, but by starting out slowly and building your stamina, they become easier and the benefits are a nice strong core.

Speaker 1: 17:54

Now, as I mentioned earlier, you don't have to do traditional planks. You can modify these. You could do them on your forearms, with a flat back and straight legs if you're at that point. But planks can be modified to be done on your knees, or you can even do wall planks. All right, you may be saying, chris, are you crazy if you think I'm going to do a plank? But wait, modified planks for Parkinson's can be beneficial. Oh, really, tell me more. Well, first, improved core strength through planks helps enhance your stability and reduces your risk of falls. Also, did you know that planks help you train your body to maintain a stable position, improving overall balance and coordination? Now you know, and you're welcome. And did you know that strengthening your core muscles can increase confidence in your movement when you're doing your daily activities? So try not to let your fear of planks rob you of the benefits that they can provide, and always check with your doctor prior to starting any new exercise programs to ensure they're appropriate for your specific needs.

Speaker 1: 19:02

Next up for fun abdominal exercises are your favorite, and mine leg raises. Leg raises are a great exercise for strengthening your lower abdominal muscles. This exercise requires you to engage several groups of core muscles to stabilize your body without arching your back. These core muscles help provide internal support and stability, and they're involved in helping you stabilize your spine and your hips during movement. They also help stabilize your spine and prevent rotation. Now would you like to look at three benefits in one exercise? You can't get that kind of deal just anywhere. So why are leg raises beneficial for people with Parkinson's? Well, they help improve your balance and coordination because you're strengthening your core muscles, which gives your spine and hips better stability. They can increase your core muscle strength and improve your posture, which gives your spine and hips better stability. They can increase your core muscle strength and improve your posture, which can help with rigidity and steep posture problems. And finally, they're a nice, low-impact exercise and they can be modified to suit your needs and limitations. You can do them with your knees bent, lying on the floor, versus the straight leg version of leg raises, if you'd like, and they can also be done with assistance from a certified trainer or physical therapist. They may even have you use resistance bands to help during leg raises.

Speaker 1: 20:25

All right, now let's look at some of our final exercises to build our core strength and to help you improve your core stability, your balance and your coordination. And it's the bird dog. The bird dog, yes, you heard that right. And this is a great exercise because it not only improves your core strength but your balance as well. So essentially, the way to do the bird dog exercise is to begin on your hands and knees, with your hands directly under your shoulders. Then you slowly tighten your ab muscles to stabilize your spine and you reach and extend your right arm out while at the same time extending your left leg, and then you hold that for a few seconds and then you return to all fours. Then you straighten your left arm and your right leg. This exercise is great because you're working multiple muscle groups at the same time. These include your abdominal muscles, your lower back muscles, your glutes and your hip muscles, your shoulders and your back muscles also, which are important for overall stability. Get a good workout as well. Now, the reason the Bird Dog is a good option for people with Parkinson's is it improves balance and coordination because it requires you to maintain your balance on one hand and one knee, and it helps promote stability by strengthening the core muscles which are going to support your spine and improve your overall stable base. Now it's nice because it's low impact and it can be easily modified. Now I do this one myself several times per week because it can help reduce back pain and because I also have stronger muscles around my spine and it helps to improve my flexibility in my hips and my shoulders. Now, the nice thing about the bird dog is it mimics movements used in your daily activities, like reaching, and you also get a good center of balance when moving, which helps with your quality of life. So ask your doctor or physical therapist if these would be good options for you.

Speaker 1: 22:28

All right, moving on from our core muscles, let's explain how strengthening leg muscles can help improve your balance and coordination. I'll discuss all three at the same time because they're familiar to most people. Our three leg muscle exercises would include squats, lunges and step-ups. Now, these are great exercises to include in your strength training because they're all multifunctional movements. Exercises to include in your strength training because they're all multifunctional movements. They're going to help mimic the things that we do on a daily basis, like standing from sitting in a chair, which squats do, walking up the stairs, step ups and walking or maneuvering on uneven surfaces, which would be your lunges. Now, these three exercises also use multiple muscle groups in both your legs and core, including your quadriceps, which are those big thigh muscles, hamstrings, the muscles in the back of the legs which I don't know about you, but we often get cramps in and they're hard to get rid of and your glutes or your butt muscles. And then it also helps to strengthen your calf muscles as well. These are great for your coordination and balance. So, for instance, squats enhance the stability of your core, they help you improve your ankle strength and they challenge your balance because you're shifting your weight.

Speaker 1: 23:45

Lunges everyone's favorite, am I right? Okay, probably not everyone's favorite, but they are important. And here's why Lunges Okay, probably not everyone's favorite, but they are important. And here's why Lunges improve your balance because they require you to maintain a single leg stance while at the same time shifting your weight. This helps strengthen your hip muscles, which are crucial for stability. And then, finally, step-ups they help improve our balance and coordination because we're shifting our weight while we're moving.

Speaker 1: 24:15

Now, all three of these exercises provide specific benefits for those of us with Parkinson's. They all help to reduce fall risk, because stronger legs improve stability and reduce our risk of falls. These exercises can help us improve our gait, including our stride length, which is very important our step height and our walking speed. They can also increase our mobility, because stronger legs make it easier to move, which can increase our independence for doing our daily activities. They may help us reduce freezing episodes by improving our strength and coordination, which may help to reduce the frequency and severity of freezing episodes. Now, before we panic and say I can't do these, all these can be modified based on your individual needs and limitations. They can be done using a chair for support, reducing the range of motion, or performing the exercises with assistance. Now, remember it's important to consult your health care provider before starting anything to ensure that these three exercises are going to be right for you.

Speaker 1: 25:23

Now, as final group exercises to help improve balance and coordination as part of our strength training program, let's look at balance specific exercises, and I'll discuss three that I personally do daily to help with balance, because they're easy to start and build as your balance improves. The first is the single leg stance. Now, though, I do these in two different ways. The first is holding on to something stable, like a countertop. Gradually lift one foot off, bring it back, move it to the side, bring it back, and then move it to the back and return. Now, when you first start this type of exercise, you won't lift your foot very far off the ground, or you may need to keep it on the ground and just slide it forward. That's perfectly acceptable as well, and as you get better at it, you'll be able to lift your foot an inch or two off the ground and move it forward. Bring it back to the side, bring it back and move it backward without touching your foot down Again. Always have something to hold on to when starting these for safety.

Speaker 1: 26:31

Next up is the tandem stance, or I like to call it tandem walking, and this involves placing one foot in front of the other, so the heel on the front foot touches the toes on the back feet. Think of watching a police officer testing someone for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, where they have to walk placing one foot in front of the other on, usually, the white line. Now, this is a great balance exercise because it challenges your balance, because it narrows your base of support. It helps to improve your posture and maintain your ability to maintain an upright position, because you'll be swaying when you first try these. Now. This helps to strengthen your ankles and your leg muscles. It also helps with your proprioception which, remember, is a sense of your body's position and movement in space. And finally, this exercise boosts your confidence. As your balance improves with these, so does your confidence.

Speaker 1: 27:28

Always do these with supervision and using a stable support as needed, and listen to your body. If you feel dizzy or lightheaded or losing your balance, stop immediately. Remember to ask your doctor first if these are appropriate for your personal needs. Finally, for balance reaching exercises are great for challenging your balance and coordination while at the same time simulating activities you do on a daily basis. So practice reaching above, reach to the side, reach at an angle, reach down to your knees Again. Do these while being supervised. Now, as I mentioned before, I spend 10 to 15 minutes every day on balance exercises and it has dramatically increased my balance, coordination and stability and I really don't have that much of a fear of falling. Now remember to always consult with your health care provider before starting any strength training exercises we discuss to make sure that they're right for you.

Speaker 1: 28:25

Alrighty, let's quickly give you some tips for effective training. Start slowly and gradually increase the intensity. You want to listen to your body, to avoid overexertion. Use proper form exertion. Use proper form. Focus on quality of movements over quantity of repetitions. And then work with a physical therapist or a certified trainer for instructions on how to do the exercises properly. Consider using assistive devices. If you need canes or walkers or balance aids, you can use these for support as well and then work with a qualified professional. A physical therapist or exercise specialist can create a personalized plan for you. Okay, now we're well-schooled in understanding balance and coordination with Parkinson's and specific strength training exercises to improve our balance and coordination.

Speaker 1: 29:19

Now let's look at some of the common concerns and where you can get some support and resources. And let's start with some common concerns. First on our common concerns list is fear of falling. Studies have shown that a significant percentage of people with Parkinson's experience fear of falling. According to the research study a theoretical framework for addressing fear of falling avoidance behavior in Parkinson's disease published in Physiotherapy in Practice, the authors state that people with PD have a high fear of falling, with estimates ranging from 37 to 59 percent. They also note fear of falling also appears to increase as PD progresses, with one recent prospective study reporting an increased prevalence of fear of falling for 40 to 55 percent over three years' time.

Speaker 1: 30:17

Now some specific strategies you can use to overcome fear of falling. First is physical therapy. They can help you with balance training, focusing on exercises that we discussed earlier. They also can help you with gait training by improving your walking patterns, and they can also help you address freezing. And then they can teach you fall prevention strategies for recovering from loss of balance, which can help you prevent falls. Occupational therapy they can come in and do home assessments to help identify fall hazards in your home, like loose rugs, cluttered walkways, etc. And they can also help with the use of assisted devices like canes and walkers, and then ask your doctor to do a medication review. If medications are contributing to dizziness or balance problems, let your doctor know. And then one of my personal favorites is cognitive behavioral therapy, and I highly recommend cognitive behavioral therapy, and you can address the psychological effects of fear of falling, like anxiety and avoidance behaviors. Check out my podcast on Parkinson's and anxiety and how cognitive behavioral therapy can take back control. And then you can participate in exercise programs specifically designed for people with PD. There's the LSVT Big Program, rock Steady Boxing or Tai Chi. These programs incorporate balance training and fall prevention strategies and then try to connect with others in support groups who understand your concerns and then finally, reduce stress through mindfulness techniques like deep breathing, meditation and yoga.

Speaker 1: 31:59

Another common concern is fatigue. To help overcome fatigue, start slowly and gradually, increase the time and duration of your exercises. You want to listen to your body, rest or reduce the intensity of exercises if you feel fatigue. Break up exercises into three 10-minute sessions and spread those throughout the day. You're still getting your 30 minutes. It's just broken up into three 10-minute blocks and then finally incorporate rest periods to recuperate and recover and then also make sure you get adequate sleep.

Speaker 1: 32:33

So where can you find support and resources? Start with Parkinson's organizations. Now I recommend the following the Parkinson's Foundation, the Davis Phinney Foundation, whose focus is on living well with Parkinson's, the Michael J Fox Foundation and the American Parkinson's Disease Association. Another thing you consider is telehealth options. Look at online classes or free seminars or consultations and then, finally, look at exercise programs specifically designed for Parkinson's. Like I mentioned, the LSVT Big Program and Rock Steady Boxing Program, and I've personally done both and I highly recommend both of them. They both will definitely help you with your balance. Both, and I highly recommend both of them. They both will definitely help you with your balance.

Speaker 1: 33:26

Now. Parkinson's may throw us curveballs, but strength training empowers us to hit them back. By incorporating these exercises into your routine, you can unlock greater stability, improve your coordination and reclaim your confidence and movement. Now remember you're not alone in this journey. Take the first step by consulting with your healthcare professional to develop a personalized plan that's right for you. With dedication and the right support system, you can experience significant improvements in your balance and coordination and your overall quality of life. It's all about taking control and living life to the fullest, even with Parkinson's.

Speaker 1: 34:02

Now for more Parkinson's resources and to stay up to date on the latest research, visit liveparkinsonscom. Subscribe to the free monthly newsletter to get valuable tips and strategies delivered straight to your inbox. And if you found this information helpful and want to support the creation of more content like this, consider donating to my Ko-fi page, ko-ficom slash liveparkinsons, and I'll leave a link in the description. Now, every contribution, big or small, allows me to keep developing valuable Parkinson's information. Thank you for joining me on this episode. Until next time, stay healthy, stay strong and live your best life with Parkinson's. And, as always, thanks for listening and have a great day.