April 10, 2024
Welcome to The Climb, your weekly journey with Lifecycle Sherpa, where we explore Parkinson’s Disease, its symptoms, treatments, tips, techniques, and build a supportive and knowledgeable community.
This week’s trail leads us to…freezing (or getting stuck).
Question: What is freezing? How can I manage it!?
Answer: Freezing is a MOTOR SYMPTOM. It is experienced as, when your body part will not move when you are trying to move. For example, when you try to walk up the stairs and your foot will not move.
Tips on Management: Here is my favorite!
When you have a moment of freezing, just STOP. Stop sending any messages to move. Pause for a moment and clear your mind, do not try to move. Then send one, clear, signal, for example “Take one step forward with your right foot.” Then continue on. This should help.
For more guidance, get a referral to see a physical or occupational therapist to address your specific symptoms. It is always a good idea to learn strategies before the symptoms evolve in order to best fight them off.
We always encourage feedback, as it helps us enhance our community. Feel free to reach out regarding future topics you want to learn about, or how we can improve your experience.
See you next week!