[Jill Barden]

Check out Dr. Sarah King’s website for her video on the “5 S” method of reducing freezing of gait in PD:

https://www.invigoratept.com/blog//how-to-get-unstuck-from-a-parkinsons-freezing-episode-the-5s-method

While you’re there, you’ll also find a plethora of other free videos and articles on a variety of PD-related topics! Besides being an awesome Parkinson’s PT, Sarah is a passionate advocate for people living with PD.

Keep Calm and PWR! on!

[Jill Barden]

I am a PWR!Moves certified physical therapist specializing in Parkinson’s disease. I recently completed the PWR!Moves class instructor certification program. There were several Rock Steady Parkinson’s Boxing instructors also taking the PWR!Moves instructor certification training. They said they were there because they had witnessed how much better people who were doing the PWR!Moves program performed in boxing class and they realized boxing wasn’t providing everything their participants needed!

PD is the only progressive neurological brain disease in which the rate of progression can be affected by doing the right kinds of targeted functional exercise. The research and evidenced-based PWR!Moves program was developed specifically to target both the motor and non-motor symptoms of PD. PWR stands for Parkinson Wellness Recovery. It targets all of the functional movements we all need to do every day. Since we function in many different positions, we need to move and exercise in all of them as well. Just exercising in standing or sitting doesn’t help people with PD function better lying on their back, stomach or on all 4’s.

The PWR!Moves is a home-based daily program that is performed without any equipment and can be done anywhere there is room for an exercise mat on the floor. It can be adapted for anyone and at any stage of PD. PWR!Moves can be a standalone program or it can be integrated into any other form of exercise. It can be done while traveling, at work or on those cold snowy days when the roads are closed and you can’t get to the gym or exercise classes are canceled!

Research shows that it’s not just what we do, it’s how we do it that gives the best results. Parkinson’s disease causes stiffness (rigidity) in the body and tells people to move slower and smaller (bradykinesia). The key to the PWR!Moves is that it is an amplitude-based (moving BIG with high EFFORT) functional program that helps people to break through the stiffness and slow movement to move bigger and stronger!

The PWR!Moves also improves posture, balance, strength, agility and non-motor symptoms like sleep, fatigue, constipation and mood. It enhances and improves all aspects of everyday function including work, sports and hobbies. PWR!Moves reduce freezing and fall risk. Research shows the sooner after diagnosis people begin doing the PWR!Moves, the better they will do throughout life!

It’s so important to begin moving in the right ways as soon as possible to target the specific changes that come with a PD diagnosis. Please keep doing whatever exercise you love to do, BUT  please do PD-specific functional targeted amplitude training like PWR!Moves every day! Targeted amplitude-based exercise IS medicine for PD!

For more information on the research, the PWR!Moves, Dr. Becky Farley’s PWR!Gym or to find a certified PWR!Moves Therapist or Instructor in your area visit: pwr4life.org

Keep Calm and PWR! on!