One of the tests my previous neurologist tried on me was to put one foot directly in front of the other and walk a line. No way could I do it and I was sincerely trying but always lost balance bad right away, and that is still the case. That neurologist was not a movement specialist and he said that he doesn't know what the imbalance was from on this activity but it was not from PD. I feel he was implying I was exaggerating. I just let it go because this was way early in the diagnosis process and I certainly wasn't going to question what was and was not PD symptoms, but now I do. BTW I dropped that neurologist after one visit.
I didn't think about it when I spoke to the Movement Specialist and he did not have me do that activity.
My question is, can you do that? I mean can you walk one foot toe to heel in front of the other? I will probably ask about it on my next visit to the Movement Clinic.
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TheresaCurley
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I can when my meds are working. This is one of the reasons that I carry in my wallet a health alert card and one of the things it says on that card is, I am not intoxicated. The card is from the national Parkinson's Foundation and on my wrist is a medical alert that refers to the card in my wallet since it also includes Dr., emergency contacts and meds I take. National Parkinson's foundation will give upon request to anyone who needs it, a free hospital kit... I think it's called. Because I ride my bike if anything happened I would need them to have this information. It's so important to not end up in the hospital without any of our meds.
With my usual medication I can walk heel to toe easily, and can do so less easily eyes closed. I am quite sure I would have difficulty without medication although I am not about to try that experiment.
Difficulty with balance is generally regarded as one of the signs of PD. In any case, I believe it is important for you to gain an understanding of what is going on here because that is quite likely the cause of your falling.
I can do it pretty easily. I had a co-worker without PD try it and he swayed about as much as I did. I think most neurologists do the heal toe walk. My wife's neurologist always did it during her appointments.
I had a pt routinecthat did that along with one leg stand and eye exercises. On the heel toe i could never do it cause I was lookin down. If i pick a spot and look straight ahead I do it easily. The movement guy nvr told me that. Its good to practice. You body will try to adjust .
Interesting – – both my neurologist (movement disorder specialist) and my personal trainer, who is very experienced wmo yith this issue, have given me precisely the opposite advice. Walk with legs slightly spread apart in an "athletic" position to keep center of gravity low and avoid getting your feet close together because it's so easy to cross them over and trip.
Unless you want to be a runway model, I think you should get a second opinion.
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