Becoming Unfrozen

[john-h]

Think BIG steps. I get into freezing when I start taking smaller steps with very little hand movement. I try to stop at that time and tell to myself I need to start taking bigger steps and move my arms bigger. There is a Parkinson exercise BIG program that I have taken and I perform the nine BIG exercise every morning for the past 2.5 yrs. I feel it helps me with thinking BIG all the time.

[connie-roche]

My husband’s freezing didn’t seem to respond to most of the tips and tricks we read about.

But we made a great discovery when we were at a summer rental house where there were flagstones forming a path to the front door.  Amazingly, my husband strode along the path placing one foot after another on the flat stones.  Since then, we transferred that tactic to the wide floor boards in our great room: “one foot on each board”.  Outdoors, we sometimes look for leaves or any items on the ground that he can use as targets

And here is an amazing video demonstrating a similar principle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt2rDJRpdTo

[Deleted User]

Exactly right John . . . think big, go BIG. I’ll stop, straighten up, throw my shoulders back and quietly say to myself “big steps” and that seems to work. My FoG had progressively worsened especially when starting, making sharp turns, or when going through doorways and narrow passageways . . . all of the text book freezing scenarios. Whispering “big steps” has helped and I’m usually fine once I get going.

[karen-st-clair]

My husband has had PD for 20 years.  His freezing often leads to falls.  He uses a Drive Nitro walker and we’ve attached a NexStride device to it.  The Nexstride is  a multi cueing device that shines a green laser beam in front of his feet.  This cues his brain to take the next step.  It also has a metronome that he can set at the pace of his stride and it reminds him to walk at that pace.  With this device he has far less freezing and his gait is very natural,

I also saw a webinar where the doctor said, when freezing to: Stop, Stand Tall, Sigh, Shift your Weight from side to side and then take the next step.  He called it the SSSST method.  My husband tried it and it does seem to work.

[royroberts]

My husband often has a freezing episode when he is standing in front of the toilet trying to back up and turn to exit the bathroom. He makes sure that he is standing upright, begins swaying side to side, then stepping left, then right, forward, then backward, until he is able to turn around and walk. It took many nights to find the combination of movements that worked to unfreeze his body.

[john-bauer]

I unfreeze by providing a line to step over, works every time. The device i use at home or away from home to create the “line” is a simple walking stick + a piece of pipe insulation or a foam tube for water sports that you can get a a dollar type store. for the walking stick i use a camera monopod but a 1″bamboo pole works. i push about 1 foot of the insulation onto the stick and leave about 16 inches hanging over the end. i’ll bend the insulation to form an “L” at the bottom of the stick so i have about 16″ to step over. Wrap duct tape around the insulation. You end up with something that looks like a hockey stick. Place the stick as far forward as you need to and step over the insulation. i also use any piece of rope or a shoelace to create a line to step over and carry it with me in case i forget to bring the stick, which i do if i’m ON and don’t need it right that minute. It works when i can barely walk and is especially helpful walking downhill.