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Dan, When I go to the pool for an early morning swim and sauna/hot tub there are a group of guys there every morning talking about their back pain, knee or hip surgery, various injuries from hockey, skiing etc. I listen and laugh, I call us the 'invincible club'. Who would have thought we would be where we are. Bonnie, going into year 6 with pd. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dan W Scott" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, August 09, 2002 8:53 AM Subject: Exercise and joints > I have been in the YMCA pool for about 2 hours a day, 6 days/week. -- > since February 2002, excepting for 5 days a month ago, for antibiotic > infusion therapy of very persistant cellulitis infection in my left leg; but > that's not the point. > The point is that while in hospital I watched an excellent presentation > by a professor of orthopedics/ arthritis at Washington State Medical School. > He reviewed alll the studies made regarding the benefits and the adverse > effects of exercise. > He was age about 55. Speaking personally, he said that he had been > jogging 3 miles per day for a few years. He said that he has learned as a > result of published studies that his degree of exercise was quantitatively > a little excessive, because of the (slight) risks of joint cartlidge damage. > As a result, he cut back to 2 miles per day as a justified balance between > cardiac/ vascular benefits from exercise versus the cartledge damage caused > to the knee and hip joints.That's an example of what I mean by applying > moderation. > I do not recall that any studies were made on pd populations specificly, > but they were made with all age groups, and many were of frail elderly > persons. > I learned several things that I have applied to myself:: > 1. Be cautious with your degree of exercise. I can't be more specific in > this space, but simply say "certainly don't underdo it, do become active; > but don't overdo it". > 2. I myself cannot walk well except in water (only 1/4 mile on the usual > treadmill), but at this time, I do much more than the equivalent of that in > the pool. In the lectures, the professor emphasized very emphaticly the > great benefits of strengthening the muscles that surround the knee. These > are primarily those that are in the front and rear areas of your thigh, near > the knee. In the water, I have been able to build up very very strong > muscles for movement involving hip, knee, and calves (e.g. flexing to stand > on tip toes). > The benefits of strengthening , according to reported studies, are > threefold, three principal ways: > a. The strength is there to help maintain balance. If pd lets you do > even a little flexing of these muscles, you decrease the odds that you will > fall (I tend to fall backwards, but find that now I can prevent it more > certainly). > b. If you do fall, the muscles form a padding, protecting the underlying > bones and joints. This is one main reason boxers build up so much muscle > mass -- to pad themseves from blows.Your padding will be beneficial in an > auto accident, as well! > c. Properly developed, these muscles keep the bones of the joint > (principally the knee) properly aligned. The can greatly reduce wear on the > cartledge at the edges of the joint, and the studies show that this is a > major benefit not only in reducing pain, but also in reducing the need for > knee surgery at all. There are specific rules that I have found in > literature, as well as observed in myself, that one should apply with any > exercise that flexes the knee; it is too easy to do the wrong thing: e.g., > any posture that enables 'bow' legedness while stressing the knee joint; > more subtly, exercise that stresses the knee joint when.the knee is above > and in front of the ankle joint. > How can one exercise? Just briefly, there are several modes, or means of > exercising. > 1. Do it yourself. Isometric, push against the wall or floor -- that > sort of thing. Studies show that this mode is beneficial for avoiding joint > disease (but not cardio vascular, of course). > 2. Use exercise machines. They will work well, although the ones that > develop our muscles do not necessarily improve cardio vascular.. I > personally have found that some of them that were especially useful were > also somewhat difficult for me to get into or out of, but one can do it, > especially with someone there to help. > 3. Use the pool. All things considered, this is a mode that is the best > single method of muscle development (and cardio vascular, if that is an > objective). There are one or two books recommended by Parkinsn foundation. > They seem to me to be valuable for persons who are very hanicapped, and I > value them, but they were of little use to me, I judged. That is why I have > addressed this subject in this forum, in case anyone has had aquatic > exercise experience, or is otherwise interested in the topic. Let's call it > "Aquatic exercise"? I am hoping for further discussions. > -------- > These benefits resulting from muscle development, especially among us > who are of advanced age, are WORTH THE BOTHER. Ask anyone who has had joint > surgery. Don't say "CANT exercise". "Where there is a will there is a way." > Of course, where there is a wont there is a way, too. > Just DO IT before you lose those joints, when you will be really sorry, > really miserable. > Try it, you may even like it! You may choose to exploit the social > benefits of interaction with others in the pool who also have limited > mobility. I have done things like trade recipes for chili and discussed > parental/ grandparental problems concerning teenagers. > > Dan W Scott, pwp 18 years, going on two. > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn