Your Parkinsons symptoms
Your Parkinsons symptoms are one of the main factors that will increase your risk of falls. Learning how to manage these effectively can significantly reduce your risk. There are various symptoms that can be a factor:
Freezing
Freezing, where your feet feel like they are stuck to the floor, can make you feel off balance and increase your risk of falls. Learning to break out of these freezes, or prevent them from starting can help. See the managing your freezing section to see how cueing techniques can help.
Festinating
Festinating refers to a symptom where it feels like your legs aren't moving fast enough to keep up with your body. This can lead to a forward leaning posture and a risk of falls. Try to focus on increasing your stride length, swing your arms and try to build a "rhythm" with your walking.
Posture
It is common in Parkinsons disease to become stooped, with a forward head posture. This sends your upper body weight ahead of your feet, making it more difficult to maintain your centre of gravity. Working on your posture can help this.
One simple exercise can involve standing with your back against the wall, with your feet, hips and shoulders against the wall. Now try to grow up tall while keeping these body parts against the wall. The aim is to stretch the upper back, neck and head up towards the ceiling, making the space between your head and the wall smaller. Make sure not to tilt your head back during this movement, the gap should close by growing tall instead. Aim to hold for a minimum of 30 seconds up to 5 minutes.
Then you can try to incorporate your upright posture into your walking. Maintaining it as long as you can.
With the stiffness that comes with Parkinsons, try to include exercises that rotate your upper back and core muscles, as these can become reduced over time.
One simple exercise can involve standing with your back against the wall, with your feet, hips and shoulders against the wall. Now try to grow up tall while keeping these body parts against the wall. The aim is to stretch the upper back, neck and head up towards the ceiling, making the space between your head and the wall smaller. Make sure not to tilt your head back during this movement, the gap should close by growing tall instead. Aim to hold for a minimum of 30 seconds up to 5 minutes.
Then you can try to incorporate your upright posture into your walking. Maintaining it as long as you can.
With the stiffness that comes with Parkinsons, try to include exercises that rotate your upper back and core muscles, as these can become reduced over time.
Muscle weakness
The inactivity that comes with a medical condition such as Parkinsons causes the muscles to weaken over time. Trying to maintain and improve the strength of your muscles can make an impact on your falls risk. See our exercises and advice section for tips on how to get more active!