I saw this one-year-old article that I think is interesting. It may be that impaiment of the feedback signals to the brain are at least as important as the signals from the brain to the muscles. It also looks like it is possible to retrain functionality. Maybe that is one of the mechanisms behind the results from forced motion exercise and amplitude training.
I will put more of these things into my exercise regimen. For example, I will do more high cadence cycling on a spinning bike with a flywheel on low resistance and walking and running fast downhill.
Is there anyone that knows other similar exercises that could be beneficial?
"A treatment that has restored the movement of patients with chronic Parkinson's disease has been developed by Canadian researchers.
Previously housebound patients are now able to walk more freely as a result of electrical stimulation to their spines.
Normal walking involves the brain sending instructions to the legs to move. It then receives signals back when the movement has been completed before sending instructions for the next step.
Prof Jog believes Parkinson's disease reduces the signals coming back to the brain - breaking the loop and causing the patient to freeze.
The implant his team has developed boosts that signal, enabling the patient to walk normally.
However, Prof Jog was surprised that the treatment was long-lasting and worked even when the implant was turned off.
He believes the electrical stimulus reawakens the feedback mechanism from legs to brain that is damaged by the disease.
"This is a completely different rehabilitation therapy," he said. "We had thought that the movement problems occurred in Parkinson's patients because signals from the brain to the legs were not getting through.
"But it seems that it's the signals getting back to the brain that are degraded."
a very specific intervention..."are now able to walk more freely as a result of electrical stimulation (via an implant - sharon) to their spines." How do you plan to stimulate your spine? Let us know.
Aerobic Amplitude training =
➢ Progressive Aerobic Training. ❖ 150 minutes of Aerobic exercise a week. ❖ New blood vessels in the brain. ❖ Oxygenates the brain. ❖ Manage stress ❖ Reduce depression ❖ Enhance sleep ➢ Parameters ❖ 56-61% Heart Rate Max, ✓ 220 – age = HRM ❖ Rate of Perceived Exertion, 4 or 5 out of 10.
Thanks for the feedback, Sharon. I have not found any more details about the intervention other than those mentioned in this article. What I found interesting with his hypothesis, were not the fact that they stimulated the spine with an implant, but rather how they did it. As I interpret the article, the thing was that they were boosting the signals that come back to the brain. The result indicates that the subjects may not only regain motor function during the stimulation. There also seems to be a long time effect of the intervention.
Would it be possible to obtain similar effects without an implant in your spine? Probably not to that extent. But maybe it is beneficial with movements that give strong sensory feedback response to the brain. Is it possible to obtain any effect from that? I don't know, but it would be interesting to hear your view on it.
My first thought was that this might be one of the mechanisms behind the results from studies on forced movement exercises. An external force makes your limbs move faster than the brain anticipates.
In studies made on assisted high cadence bicycling on a stationary tandem bike, the symptom reduction was significantly higher in the intervention group compared to the control group (cycled non-assisted at voluntary cadence with at least the same intensity level).
When they tried to reproduce the same thing with motor-assistance instead of a tandem bike in another study, it turned out that it did not work with constant speed on the motor, but they could reproduce the effect with minor variations up and down of the motor speed. Another interesting observation is that in other interventions where the subjects did not actively cycle at all, they still obtain symptom improvements.
All those results harmonize quite well with his hypothesis, and it is hard to rule out that it not could be one of the underlying mechanisms behind the results.
Could it be a possible mechanism in other areas? I do not know, but if you ask me to do un-educated wild guesses, I would say maybe in amplitude training (retraining of movement amplitude e.g. for gait, speech, and micrographia). Maybe it could be one of the mechanisms behind the symptom reduction from exercises where you focus on the sensory feedback, like tai chi and qi gong? Or for resistance training and weight lifting exercises with instability? Or for walking or running on uneven surfaces like forest trails? Or even for passive activities like full-body vibration therapies?
The best exercises are the ones you do. It is always far better to do anything than nothing. But for people that search for an optimal effect of their training, this might be a parameter to consider.
Some years ago I visited the OSU/Cleveland Clinic of Angela Ridgel who is the current primary researcher in FE for PwP. But FE in running goes way back to the 1930s in Germany and the Aussies Elliot (1960 Oly gold medal) and Cerutty in the 1950s.
(FE transitions ultimately into High Cadence or FEHC. IOW, it is the excessive speed that matters performed over a sufficiently long time period. If it isn't excessive in relation to your norm, or the workout is too short then results are minimal ).
3 fold idea then and now in running: 1) use a car to tow the runner at a speed faster than he normally runs (Assisted FE bike), and 2) train at your fastest speed as often as possible(at least 80-120 bike rpm), and 3) use concentric and eccentric running (up and down hills or reverse pedaling on a spin bike).
Jog is expounding on the theory of electrically stimulating the brain to improve signalling, which certainly is one cause of PD, but which I would say has "only" something to do with the theory of FE in relation to PD motor dysfunction. But how much would be a guess.
I would toss in another reality theory of mine as former runner that the usual lack of "leg muscle power" in almost all PwP has a great deal to do with their difficulties in walking, balancing, etc. So, for me, I always suggest at least leg weight training, (and you don't need a brain implant) which is a spin off of the "spring-mass"model while we are in the briar patch.
Interesting subject usually ignored by PD researchers.
Is this theory just talking about the creation of new Neural pathways? Old routes are not working as well and new connections need to be made. I’ve often wondered whether exercise or forced movement when not properly medicated might be helpful as a way of forcing these new connections as the body struggles? Obviously just idle thinking and difficult for many.
Very interesting. I do wonder whether my husbands loss of dexterity in his hands is partly due to not doing much with them when he was well as he didn’t enjoy manual work and his brain gradually deciding they weren’t required! Also his poor posture bending over his computer putting a lot of strain on the top of his neck.
I’m still trying to get him to trial the tens machine we have connected to a pair of gloves that stimulate blood flow to the hands. I have a feeling they might help remind his brain where his hands are in a similar way to this but just have to be able to convince him to bother.
For those of us who spend a lot of time on the computer, making arrangements that support good posture is essential! Long cords or wireless keyboard and mouse allows these devices to be placed within easy reach when sitting straight up. A carefully selected office chair is also essential.
He has all that but when I look at him side on his head is lolling forward and his shoulder blades have started to protrude like chicken wings. Can’t get him to straighten up though.
you could use some of those cheap POSTURE CORRECTOR on EBay, I saw some a couple days ago and you can use it to just be a reminder he is not straight or slouching.
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