​On Thursday the 28th of July 7-8 pm, there is a webinar for patient's with Parkinson's disease by Gilly Davy a Physiotherapist who has recently spent time working in Australia and the UK. She is trained in PD warrior and LSVT BIG she is energetic and engaging her webinar will be informative and helpful for patients and family or carers of those living with Parkinson's disease. 

The talk will be inspiring and educational discussion on exercise in Parkinson's disease a must for anyone who has Parkinson's disease. 

For those of you who are new to webinars it is an online lecture, where you listen and talk directly with the speaker at the time the webinar is live on line. It is a great way to learn in the comfort of your own home. You can be an active participant or you can just listen.

There is much debate over the existence of cervicogenic vertigo, which would be rotational movement associated with neck pain. Cervicogenic dizziness (CGD) however is a feeling of dizziness often described as lightheadedness (not presyncope) or that a patient has a floating head  which is associated neck pain and often with decreased balance. 

Etiology
The mechanism by which cervical pain or dysfunction could lead to dizziness is in dispute, it is thought that inflammation or irritation of the cervical roots or facet joints could cause disruption to the proprioceptive receptors (cervical joint and tendon receptors) in the neck. These receptors are responsible to the postural neck reflexes which are linked with spinal cord, brain stem, cerebrum and cerebellum.   It is thought that upper cervical spine proprioception is responsible for the generation of cervico-ocular reflex  (COR) which works with the vestibular ocular reflex at lower frequencies. Disruption to proprioception is said to result in a mismatch of information to the balance centres due that cause ongoing dizziness and balance impairment.

Did you know that physical exercise is better for your memory than completing a crossword or Suduko.  

We all know that physical exercise is good for our bodies and physical health, but it is also good for our brain health. 

Just like other muscles of the body if you don't use it you lose it.  Exercise affects the brain on several levels research has shown that with physical exercise that increases your breathing and gets your heart pumping there is an increase in the amount of oxygen the brain receives which provides a nourishing environment for growth of brain cells.  Also it has been demonstrated that when we get out of breath hormones that are directly related to improving memory and neuroplasticity of the brain are released into the bloodstream, these hormones are called growth factor an increase in growth factors in the brain- making it easier for the brain to grow new neuronal connections new blood vessels and the health of brain cells.

 Showing that exercise stimulates the brain plasticity by stimulating growth of new connections between cells and strengthening existing connections in a wide array of important cortical areas of the brain. 

Exercise helps with neuroplasticity there are also direct and indirect ways that exercise can help overall brain health The benefits of exercise come directly from its ability to reduce insulin resistance, reduce inflammation, and stimulate the release of growth factors—chemicals in the brain that affect the health of brain cells, the growth of new blood vessels in the brain, and even the abundance and survival of new brain cells. Indirectly, exercise improves mood and sleep, and reduces stress and anxiety. Problems in these areas frequently cause or contribute to cognitive impairment.

Many studies have suggested that the parts of the brain that control thinking and memory (the prefrontal cortex and medial temporal cortex) have greater volume in people who exercise versus people who don’t. 

So how can we put this into practise???????

Researchers found that regular aerobic exercise, the kind that gets your heart and your sweat glands pumping, appears to boost the size of the hippocampus, the brain area involved in verbal memory and learning. Resistance (weights) training and balance exercise did not have the same effect. 

Studies have shown that people who walked briskly for one hour twice a week had this improvement, which is a total of 120 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. Normal recommendations are based on 150 minutes a week or 30 minutes five days a week. Just remember you can build up to this with as little as 10 minutes a day as you get started exercising. 

If you don’t want to walk, consider other moderate-intensity exercises, such as swimming, stair climbing, tennis, squash, or dancing. Don’t forget that household activities can count as well, such as intense floor mopping, raking leaves, or anything that gets your heart pumping and breaking out in a light sweat. 

Current research is showing that by using vigorous exercise you can potentially slow the progression of your Parkinson’s disease. Medical intervention at present can only help with alleviating the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

It has long been known that exercises is important for health, it lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, helps mood and sleep and is now even shown to improve memory.

However often when we get diagnosed with a Neurological condition we tend to neglect our other systems and often, we start to become inactive and inactivity can be just as damaging as your diagnosed neurological condition. It is important that you are prioritising exercises as it is just as important as taking your medication for your health now and in the future. Anyone can exercise anywhere anyhow.

So how can exercise help with Parkinson’s

Nordic walking is fitness activity that incorporates the whole body, by using your arms and trunk as well as your legs. Turning your everyday walking in to a fun whole body fitness activity. Nordic walking is a beneficial activity for a broad range of people, and great rehabilitation tool for those with a Neurological conditions.

Nordic walking is an intensification of normal walking using specially designed lightweight poles. To gain the maximum potential benefit of Nordic walking it is best to get taught the correct technique by a qualified Nordic walking instructor using the correct equipment.


Benefits of Nordic walking 

- Increased Calorie expenditure - Burn more calories quicker, Nordic walking burns 400 calories/hour compared to 280 calories/hour for normal walking. 
 
- Decreased stress on joints  - the use of poles can reduce tension and pain in shoulder and neck region especially when associated with overuse. They also help Reduce the load on knees and other joints. 

 - Improved posture - Use of the poles improves weight distribution during walking, and improves gait technique by using 90 % of muscles in the body. Nordic walking offers functional strengthening of weakened muscles. 
 
- Lower perceived exertion - You can work harder for longer without feeling exhausted as you are utilising more of the body's musculature to propel you. 

- Improved balance - The poles provide two further points of balance.
 
- Improved co-ordination - Using both right and left side of the brain. 

- Improved mood - Exercises has been shown to improve mood and aid depression it is felt that Nordic walking may enhance this effect as it is a new and novel way to exercises.

Research looking at synaptic connections in mice have found that sleep after motor learning cause new connections, this is interesting research and well worth keeping an eye over as it could explain why patients with neurological damage are so tired or have that 'unexplained' cognitive fatigue. 

For more information see BBC Article 

For full article see science journal 

Heading into winter we start to change our footwear, slippers are dragged out of the cupboard and we start to put on socks to keep those feet warm. But how does this affect our balance poor footwear is a big hazard so how can you keep yourself safe? 


SOCKS
Socks are great if they go inside your shoes but worn with out shoes they are a hazard!!
They can cause you to slip on tiled and wooden floors, if they are too loose you can trip over the socks themselves. It is important that you wear either bare feet or well fitting shoes or slippers. Banish wearing only socks in your home and stay safe. 

The Parkinsons KinetiGraph wristband is an exciting invention by Australian company Global Kinetics. The wristband is be worn by patients as a tool for doctors to measure movements experienced by patients allowing for what could be more presice prescribing of medications. 

Read full article here

Global Kinetics website www.globalkineticscorporation.com