May 8, 2024
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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…balance problems (postural instability) and falls
We know this is a HUGE topic. We will address it bit by bit, but here is an overview to start.
Question: What is postural instability? How can I manage it!?
Answer: Postural instability is a MOTOR SYMPTOM. It presents as poor balance and coordination (falling, walking into things), shuffled gait (not picking up your feet when you walk), tripping often, and falls or “near falls”.
Tips on Management: Here are THREE!
1) Stand with feet at least shoulder width apart (This will lower your center of gravity and decrease risk of a fall)
2) Walk with a wide stance (same reason as above)
3) Make sure your exercise routine includes both balance and strengthening exercises. We will give some examples in videos and resources to come!
For more guidance, get a referral to see a physical 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!