When brain cells degenerate and die, the usual pathways sending messages from brain to muscle are like congested motorways. Exercise helps to open up new and exciting routes.
Once a keen distance runner, I had gradually ground to a halt. It was as if I had two different legs. Rightie would say “It’s a lovely sunny day, let’s go out for a run!” Leftie would say “B****r off! I want to stay in bed!” My arms were also at odds with each other. Leftie was so weak I couldn’t lift a fish pie out of the oven unless I wanted to eat it off the kitchen floor.
Like many people, I used to think that Parkinson’s was all about uncontrollable tremor and falling over a lot. But Parkinson’s comes in more flavours than ice cream, and every person with Parkinson’s is different. Turns out my flavour is bradykinesia with a sprinkling of marshmallow mild cognitive disorder. (Bradykinesia comes from the Greek brady = slow, delayed; kinesia = movement.)
Hooray! I could finally put a label to my problem.
Keep moving
It would be a while before the diagnosis was confirmed. In the meantime, my doctor said, keep moving. This was music to my ears, but I didn’t know then just how important exercise would be. Medication helps, but it’s the daily dose of movement that is the real medicine.
What kind of exercise? And how to start? Exercise comes in many flavours, too. Not all of them palatable. Building up my cardiovascular fitness would be OK, but I’ve always been lazy about strength, stretching, mobility and balance work.
I was lucky to find a buddy in the next street. Sally has had Parkinson’s for 10 years. We’d been in the same running club in the noughties, but as I’d slowed down I’d stopped going to the club and rather lost touch. We met for coffee and cake (when one still could!) and she dug out a load of useful resources. One of them was a link to the Australian site PD Warrior, developed by neurological physiotherapist Melissa McConaghy, who has worked with people with Parkinson’s for more than 20 years.
From their site:
“At its heart, PD Warrior is an intensive circuit program designed to fight the symptoms of Parkinson’s. It is designed specifically to help you in the early stages following diagnosis when your symptoms are still considered mild. PD Warrior is supported by a growing body of evidence that shows that intensive, high-effort, complex exercise has the potential to slow the progression of your symptoms by using neuroplasticity – your brain’s natural ability to re-organise its pathways and connections, much like re-wiring.”
Personal satnav
Imagine this. You’re driving down the motorway when the dot matrix lights up and tells you there’s been an accident ahead and to expect delays between junctions. Do you:
- Stay on the motorway and hope that the congestion clears by the time you get there?
- Leave the motorway and find a different route, either with satnav or your dogeared gazetteer?
It’s always the second option for me – trying another route. We may be slower, but there is more scope to stop for a comfort break and find a nice café by accident. It doesn’t matter if we end up behind a tractor and a herd of cows – anything is better than sitting in a slow- or no-moving line wondering if someone is going to pile into the back of the queue. Next time we travel that way we remember that convenient little detour.
When brain cells degenerate and die, the usual pathways sending messages from brain to muscle are like those congested motorways. But no-one is coming along with a breakdown truck any time soon. Neuroplasticity helps you make new connections so that those messages still get through. The best way to build and maintain those new connections is with exercise that is specific, challenging, frequent, powerful, complex, meaningful…..and fun!
Play > You gotta move > Mississippi Fred McDowell
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