To: Ron F. Vetter
Re: Comments on strength training and Balance posted on Fri 14 Apr.
 
(PT=Physical Therapy)
 
My dissertation is looking at the effect of strength and balance
training on balance and strength and activities of daily living in
previously sedentary persons with stage II - III Parkinson's disease.
 
Exercises which leave you feeling slow and tired...fatigue is a factor
in Parkinson's disease. Maybe there is a difference between sustained
exercise (aerobic) and short-duration type movements (anaerobic) on
fatigue and PD? It's a great idea for a study. (But first I need to
get my Ph. D. in what I'm currently doing). To date, no study has
shown that any type of exercise program or exercise participation
affects dopamine use negatively (In PD). In other words, this has not been
verified experimentally. There are three studies that have looked at
dopamine levels and (aerobic) exercise and the results are inconclusive. I'd be
happy to email the complete reference to you so that you can form
your own opinion of this.
 
The study with PD, exercise and mortality I was refering to was a
japanese study on the effect of three types of physical activity
patterns on longevity in PD. The persons who exercised the most were
able to remain independent longer than persons who remained sedentary
over the 4 year (!) follow-up period. I would be happy to email the
reference to you so you can form your own opinion of this research.
This "truism" applies to persons with Parkinson's disease and I'm not
sure how it applies to any other population since I have not read the
literature, but it may...and there is more to it than, as you say
"remaining active only in the brain-mind sence (with no significant
motor functionality-only heart-lungs and digestion systems going."
 
 
To: Joe Imperiale and John Kuick-
 
Re: EMS and Physical Fitness
 
My study does not look at EMS. I have no experience with EMS, but with
strength and balance training for PD. I have a hunch that, the more
active a person is involved with their therapy, the more growth can be
achieved. I have written alot about my training program, the type of
strength and balance exercises I would do for a person with PD. I
would be happy to email you some references on the benefits of PT on
PD.
In a nutshell:
 
You wrote (and my answer):
 
1. What are the benefits of exercise? There are many. I'm looking at
the benefit of strength and balance training on muscular strength and
equilibrium in persons with stage II and III PD, following 10 weeks of
training, 3 days per week.
 
2. What are the complications? There are many potential complications
when working with a persons who has a chronic motor condition.We (my
research team at Florida State University) are currently working on a
manuscript on how to (weight)train ...teach... older adults with PD.
There are many complications when working with human subjects in a
controlled laboratory setting.
 
3. Is EMS painful? I'm not doind EMS so I don't know the answer to
that one.
 
4. What are the balance exercises? There are 10 exercises, performed
on a fixed support surface and on a compliant surface (foam) with
eyes open, eyes closed, head straight and head extended backwards. The
purpose of the exercises is to challenge a person to their Limit of
Stability (8 degrees- forward and 4 degrees backward). These movements
can train the visual, vestibular and proprioceptive mechanisms. This
has been verified experimentally (I can email you info on this if you
like).
 
5. How do you monitor success? Balance is monitored with the EquiTest,
a Dynamic Posturography device. Strength is monitored with strength
tests using a 4 repetition maximum on Nautilus machines. Activities
of Daily Living is monotored with a questionaire.
 
6. How do you feel the program is working? So far I think it's working
remarkably well, inspite of the fact that those who have more rigidity
are not getting stronger(they peak faster).
(But there are other benefits ...i.e.
psychological and sociological ones which cannot be easily measured,
but they are exist!)
 
I think that we are redefining what it means to
age "successfully". Even a person who has a chronic disability can
still benefit and better themselves with activity, as long as it is
creative and unusual, exotic and challenging. The basic role of the
neuron is to be stimulated and that role is not lost because a person
has PD. At any stage of development we can manipulate the structure of
the outer layer of the brain, a notion which has been substantiated by
animal and human brain research. Nerve cells are designed to be
stimulated through enrichment. Even after decades of aging has
obliterated their numbers, their primary function remains the same. It
may well be that efforts to build a complex and resonant brain by the
enrichment of the interaction with the environment produces a brain
better fortified against the later onset of degenerative conditions.
By increasing the architectural complexity of the brain through
continuous enrichment, an aging brain may be better equipped to combat
the onset and the development and progression of neurological disease.
Accepting new challenges is important. An individual can build on
adversity, using it as a focal point for enrichment, toward a better,
richer brain structure. The brain benefits from unusual and exotic
environments. The more newness we can put into the individulas life
experiences, the more likely the individual is to benefit from it.
 
7. What is the exercise program like? It lasts 1 hour 3 days per week.
The object is to get people to the point where thay can be independent
and function autonomously in the health club environment. Many
participants are sarting to change their programs to suit their
"individual" needs..and this is one of the things that we want them to do.
 
8. How hard would it be to extend a branch off shoot of your study up
into Connecticut? Hmmmm...I'd be happy to come up to Connecticut to
get a program started there. Will you pay for my airfare?
 
Hope this info has enriched you some. For more info check other message I've
posted to this list since December (94) on the "benefits of exercise for
PD".
 
Regards, Mark Hirsch ([log in to unmask])