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Please read carefully before beginning the exercises!
"The regular
carrying out of even the most simple exercise, combined with
the right medication, can prevent the motility disorders caused
by the disease and, over the long term, produces better therapeutic
results. This integrated approach in the treatment of Parkinson's
patients has long been recognised to be beneficial and is well
reported in international literature".
Dr. Giuseppe Meco, Department for Parkinsons Disease and other
extrapiramidial diseases, Department of Neurological Sciences,
"La Sapienza" University, Rome.
From: "Esercizi Fisici (Physical Exercises)", Azione
Parkinson Roma, 1994.
"In Parkinson's Disease it is useful from the earliest stages
of the illness to carry out physical exercises to improve co-ordination
and muscular trophism and to prevent muscle shortening and alterations
in capsular ligamental articulation….
Exercises should be
done on a daily basis once the patient has been properly
trained during rehabilitation therapy.
Dr. Maria Rosa Salati, Department for Rehabilitative Medicine -
Fidenza Hospital (Parma, Italy).
From: "Esercizi motori indicati nel Morbo di Parkinson (Physical
exercises for Parkinson's Disease patients)", Unione Parkinsoniani,
Parma 2003.
It is no coincidence that all
the major Associations for patients with Parkinson's have produced
exercise manuals. Some Associations have even produced video
cassettes with exercises.
Both manuals and videos however can be difficult to use when
you want to carry out the exercises.
A manual lies on the table top whilst one is trying to do the
exercises it contains.
A video cassette runs in sequence and so, in order to carry out
the same exercise several times, you have to wind the cassette
to the beginning of the exercise, then wind it back every time you want
to repeat the exercise.
The E-Gym Project (the Electronic
Gymnasium) overcomes these problems: the exercises can be
done in sequence, but it is also possible to go directly to a
specific exercise by clicking on your choice in the menu on the
left.
Each exercise has its own web page with the following
elements:
- an audio recording describing the exercise, its aims
and the way it should be carried out (to listen to the description,
click on the button, the recording is repeated every time you
press the button);
- an animation of the exercise (similar to a cartoon)
which shows every detail of how the exercise should be carried out;
- an audio recording of the exercise which beats out
the rhythm (one, two, three...);
- the possibility to choose how many times the exercise should
be shown (straight through, with a suitable pause and automatically);
- a button to start the exercise;
- a button to stop the exercise;
- a button to restart the exercise where you left off if you
had an interruption whilst doing it;
- a button to return to the exercise menu, that is, to this page.
Of course, the collection does not include every possible exercise,
just those that can be simply and easily carried out by the majority
of patients. It is up to the specialist to decide, according
to each patient's individual needs, if other more complicated
exercises are needed.
Other exercises can be added to the online collection on request.
Attention:
before beginning these
exercises, each patient should first get in touch with a physiotherapy
clinic to find out the best exercises for him/herself.
The exercises
in the collection are not suitable for all patients.
Your physiotherapist should
be able to advise you which exercises are best for you.
It should be underlined that E-Gym is only a guide of exercises
to be done at home. It should not be used in place of your usual
rehabilitation therapy.
For safety, it is best to have someone with you the first few
times you do these exercises, particularly those done standing
up.
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