New Assistive Devices for those Living with Parkinson’s Disease
By: Mary Sullivan, PT
Did you know that your muscle movement is controlled by chemicals that originate in your brain? Dopamine helps control the movement of muscles throughout the entire body. It is created in the brain and without it any movement can be more difficult to impossible. This is what happens when someone has Parkinson’s Disease. Medical treatment for Parkinson’s focuses on treatment the symptoms, not the decrease in dopamine. Due to this, progression is inevitable. To make day to day activities easier and more enjoyable, many products have been made. Here are two that have been shown to be very useful.
- Walking can be a frustrating and dangerous limitation for people with Parkinson’s, or diseases similar to it. The Mobilazer is the newest device created to help with walking. As you can see in the video the amazing change that takes place when the person has a visual cue to follow. There are other versions that are available on the market that are larger such as Laser Cane. Here is a link of how you can make one at home.
- Eating is something necessary for all people, but if you can’t hold your fork or spoon still this can be frustrating and limit a person from having proper nutrition. Liftware is a product made to help compensate for a tremor to allow a person to eat more normally. Here is a video of the dramatic change it can make.
If you, a family member, or friend is starting to show these symptoms, please call for a consult to see if we can also help with these limitations and slow the progression. For more information on Parkinson’s Disease, visit Parkinsoninfo.org.
Photo courtesy of Liftware
