Irene and Charles (her husband and full-time carer) have lived with her Parkinson’s for 15 years when this video was filmed.
They enjoy the simple things of life – going outdoors and spending time with their family. At the beginning, Irene had no physical restrictions and could move about with ease, thanks to her medication. She could do the housework, cook for her family and play with the grandchildren. At times Irene and Charles forgot she had Parkinson’s. However, gradually, despite optimal medication, Parkinson’s started to influence every moment of the day.
Irene began to have problems performing her ‘automatic’ activities, ie those actions we do without thinking. Few of us think about how to get out of a chair, we simply stand up, and it is possible to step through a doorway without considering where to place one’s feet. But Irene sometimes found she could not perform these automatic actions and would stick to her chair seat or fall at her kitchen doorway.
Irene was referred to a physiotherapist to find ways to solve these problems and help her move better. Irene, Charles and her physiotherapist decided to tackle the chair and doorway issues first. The solutions were simple, but to be successful they require training and commitment from both Irene and Charles, as her carer.
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank Mariella Graziano, Physiotherapist, Luxembourg, for her contributions to this section.
Irene is a very independent lady who likes going to the kitchen when she pleases. However, Irene started to fall over and specially when going through a doorway, which worried Charles.
In this clip you can see the problems that Irene has going through a doorway and how she stops when she reaches it. This is a common problem, often caused by freezing, which can be ovecome with the use of cues and tricks.
As you can see in this clip, in Irene’s case, the physiotherapist’s solution was to use a visual cue like a line on the floor made of sticky tape, for Irene to steps over when she gets to the doorway.
Video clips have been provided with permission of Mariella Grazianofrom her video ' Common Mobility Problems in Parkinson’s Disease and How to Address Them' . Further information on the video can be found at http://appde.unn.ac.uk/video.htm
A symptom of advanced Parkinson's disease where the person becomes ‘glued’ to the spot for a few seconds or minutes before being able to walk.
See section on Freezing.
