Exercise For Parkinson's

There was an abundance of information available to me regarding the benefits of postural and core stabilizing exercises, but every time I added the exercises proposed (Physical therapy, core exercises over a ball, etc.), It hurt my back more and strained my neck. This led me to a brand new feedback technology which enhances many core strengthening exercise programs. I learned that this Core training product is being used by many professionals and that it is also being used with some of our returning veterans who have been injured in Iraq and Afghanistan to regain core strength as they learn to stand in their new prosthetic. This new technology has helped me regain my abdominal muscle control, increased my core stability, and I believe has even significantly increased my energy level. This new core exercise tool is called the “AB-Inforcer Core Biofeedback Trainer”. It was patented, engineered and developed, by a woman owned company in Los Angeles called AB-Vanced NEU-Spine Technologies, LLC. The inventor, Lee Brandon is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist for 30 years, who believes that the secret to better functional movement is core strength, core stability and better postural awareness. She developed this technology to help people train in better form by using biofeedback.. It uses sound, lights and vibration to help you feel if you are in the proper position or not. It’s sort of like having your own abdominal and core strength coach. The exercises that she instructed me to perform on the AB-Inforcer focus on three areas and according to the research are proposed to be helpful to Parkinson's patients. First, it focused me on using proper breathing muscles separated from a stronger and more stable core and low back. Secondly, it taught me the importance of my head and neck position in relation to the rest of my body and spine. And thirdly, the exercises and the feedback provided by the machine provided me better postural awareness and postural muscles strengthening. The interesting fact is that I did not change my meds or add anything new into my regimen. I started working out with the AB-Inforcer in May 2008. 7 weeks later my back pain was gone and so were my headaches, 3 months later my legs are stronger and my posture is getting better. If you don't have good posture and you are leaning forward or your head is in the wrong position, then you won't have good balance and that is very important to have with Parkinson's disease. I will not need that walker anymore. The research indicates what I tested to be true, and that is that postural/core strength are directly connected to gait and balance.After 3 months of training with the AB-Inforcer, my Dr. Okun, was shocked At my appointment on August 4, 2008, , he could not believe how good I was doing based on the UPDRS: HON AHD YHAR Testing criteria. I was able to walk fast down the hall, stand up with my hands across my chest from a sitting position - a task I was never able to do before and I passed all my other test. My scores use to be 4's the worst score you can get. This visit my score was a 0, the best you can get. He confirmed that whatever training I had been doing with the AB-Inforcer has definitely helped me. I know this technology is not a cure and that it might not help everyone, but it has given me a better quality of life back and I hope we can help others with PD to have the same chance. They say that exercise is very important with a PD patient. I was doing certain exercises in physical therapy for years and it didn’t seem to help me much. I believe that the AB-Inforcer’s lights and sound and vibration feedback has allowed me to train smarter and harder in much better form and I am convinced that this better form is part of the reason why I am doing so much better today. I feel that someone needs to tell other PD patients that this technology exists, that it works and that there are answers out there in addition to taking the meds. I would love for your team to review this protocol for further evaluation regarding “gait and balance” improvements in connection to postural/core strength. I am not the only one with these above average results. There presently are more PD sufferers using this technology with great success. ________________________________________________________________ How the AB-Inforcer can potentially help those with gait and balance issues: But now some individuals with PD are finding a way to move more easily that doesn't involve taking more drugs. Instead, they're doing AB-Inforcer® Core Biofeedback Trainer exercises.Developed by Lee Brandon, CSCS, these exercises focus on three areas that seem to be very helpful to Parkinson's patients - breathing and strengthening the "core muscles," addressing the spine as a system and providing postural awareness and postural strengthening. Breath "training" helps because many people with PD tend to breathe shallowly, which limits the amount of oxygen they can take in. Core exercises assist with postural awareness, which Parkinson's patients find difficult to maintain. Addressing the spine as a system while training the entire core is critical for postural improvements (We call this Spinal Triangulation™ ).AB-Inforcer® Core Biofeedback Trainer exercises use very controlled movements, and are based on the theory that it's more important to reinforce good motor patterns and avoid repetitive micro trauma and move correctly in good form with every exercise. Beginning progressions are gentle and simple; many are done lying down. The three sensors and biofeedback in the form of light, sound and vibration assist in promoting better form in each exercise, remove excessive momentum and distortion, and helps isolate out the use of the hip flexors which is a root of many postural distortions. This makes these core exercises ideal for rehabilitation, and in fact they're sometimes recommended for other conditions under a professionals care, like post spine surgery rehab, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, and scoliosis.One of the biggest advantages of training on the AB-Inforcer®, though, is the flexibility of its routines. Exercises can be personalized to meet the individual needs of the people doing them clinically and at home for maintenance. Core exercises have been recommended for Parkinson's before. Those who use the AB-Inforcer’s new biofeedback training technology for their Core training have found it helped them become stronger, more flexible, and more balanced in a shorter amount of time. It's been three years and I am still going strong and have not increase my meds.