MOBILITY SOLUTIONS #1

parkinsonscare

May 7

Fixing Freezing and Festination

Last week we decided our biggest problem for people with Parkinson's Disease was mobility, specifically freezing, falling, and festination. Today we need solutions!

PROBLEM #1 – Festination

This is the tendency to walk on the balls of the feet which causes the steps to gradually become shorter. Eventually, our loved one is leaning forward to the extent that they get off-balance and fall.

SOLUTION –

As this happens, help your loved one come to a complete stop. Regain balance. When ready, say, "Heel, toe, heel, toe," and tell them to begin walking on "heel" by placing the heel down first. One alternative would be to count, putting the heel down on every odd number. The key is to come to a complete stop first, then begin with the heel.

PROBLEM #2 – Freezing

This problem seems to be unique to Parkinson's patients, and it is coming to a stop and not being able to resume walking right away. This sometimes happens suddenly with no apparent cause, but it happens more often when coming to a doorway or a turn in the path. It also occurs when our loved one is trying to hurry.

SOLUTION –

For my husband, this happened while walking down the hallway in our home. He noticed that it was easier when he was somewhere in public where the carpet had a pattern. He just followed the pattern. Since our carpet was solid, we put duct tape on the floor in a pattern to help him have something to follow. That helped for a time.

In public when there is no pattern, here are a few coping strategies:

Count together. You can even decide which # to move on. "Let's walk on 5. Now count, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, walk". Sometimes this worked for us.
Sing a favorite marching type song. That gets their mind off the pressure of walking. But it doesn't always help them move their feet. If you can get them to march in place, chances are great that you can get them to move forward.
Pretend the threshold is a stick or a snake and exaggerate the movement of stepping over it by raising your leg high.
Try touching the leg of your loved one and saying, "Pick up this leg first." That touch sometimes helps make the connection in the brain.
Gently pull your loved one to help them lean in one direction, shifting their weight to that leg so they can step with the other leg. That seems to get them off "dead center."

There is no QUICK FIX that works every time for either of these issues. Instead, these are coping strategies that work sometimes. But even these need to be adapted and altered to fit each of our situations. Please share in the comments or direct email and tell us what works for you and your loved one. Thank you for reading and commenting, and have a great week ahead.

cherylcaregiver71@gmail.com

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