I have two putting greens in my backyard and I'm hoping focusing on the 
holes will help my balance some.

Rayilyn Brown
Director AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation
[log in to unmask]

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Nic Marais" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:26 AM
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: External focus improves postural instability

> Interesting... So, we must focus on the floor not moving...;-)
>
> Nic 57/15
>
>
> On Fri, Mar 27, 2009 at 6:19 AM, rayilynlee <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> External focus improves postural stability in patients with Parkinson's
>> disease
>> March 26th, 2009
>>
>> ALEXANDRIA, VA - Patients with Parkinson disease may be able to improve
>> their postural stability by directing their attention to the external
>> effects of their movements rather than to the movements of their own 
>> body,
>> according to a study published in the February 2009 issue of Physical
>> Therapy, the scientific journal of the American Physical Therapy 
>> Association
>> (APTA).
>>
>> Adults with Parkinson disease are at greater risk for posture and balance
>> impairments. These conditions may lead to falls, resulting in head 
>> injuries
>> and fractures, which can end with hospitalization and further mobility
>> limitations. Approximately 90 percent of people with Parkinson disease 
>> will
>> fall at some point during their lives.1 In the past 12 months, two-thirds 
>> of
>> patients with Parkinson disease reported a fall.2
>>
>> According to physical therapist researcher and APTA spokesperson Merrill
>> Landers, PT, DPT, OCS, "of the major motor signs of Parkinson disease,
>> postural instability is the least responsive to medication. It is crucial
>> that physical therapists continue to develop effective rehabilitation
>> strategies to address this issue."
>>
>> Lead researcher Gabriele Wulf, PhD, and her team observed 14 adults with
>> idiopathic Parkinson disease as they balanced on an unstable surface (an
>> inflated rubber disk) under three attentional focus conditions --  
>> external
>> focus, internal focus, and a control condition.
>>
>> Patients were instructed to either focus on reducing movements of the
>> rubber disk (external focus) or movements of their feet (internal focus), 
>> or
>> they were not given attentional focus instructions (control condition). 
>> The
>> results were consistent with previous findings on attentional focus, 
>> which
>> showed that directing attention to the effects of an individual's 
>> movement
>> on the environment (external focus) improved postural stability, compared
>> with internal focus and control conditions, during standing for 
>> individuals
>> with Parkinson disease.
>>
>> "In the past 12 years or so, numerous studies have been done - many of 
>> them
>> involving healthy adults learning sport skills - and it has consistently
>> been found that individuals perform and learn motor skills more 
>> effectively
>> when they are instructed to adopt an external focus. Other studies have
>> shown that those advantages generalize to people after stroke as well as 
>> to
>> the rehabilitation of ankle sprains, for example. This is a very reliable
>> effect, and the current study demonstrates that persons with Parkinson
>> disease benefit from an external attentional focus as well," Wulf 
>> explained.
>>
>> "Findings from this study not only have the potential to enhance the
>> rehabilitation strategies of physical therapists working with patients 
>> with
>> Parkinson disease, but may ultimately give patients with postural
>> instability more control over their lives through the use of strategies 
>> that
>> help them manage their own balance safely and effectively," said Rebecca
>> Lewthwaite, PhD, of Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, a
>> co-author on the study.
>>
>> Rayilyn Brown
>> Director AZNPF
>> Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation
>> [log in to unmask]
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