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Larry and all, When a patient freezes --- have you tried having them walk backwards? (alone? --- or "dancing"? --- or holding their hand?) We first witnessed this in the hospital in Chicago. A young person was there that had a rather advanced case of PD. We got to talking with him and his wife. During the conversation the gentleman got up, turned around, and walked backwards, with minimal difficulty, across the waiting room to the waste basket and dropped in his soft drink can. He then turned around and walked backwards to his chair and sat down. We learned that he was a mechanic by trade. He could not walk forward without assistance but could walk anywhere he wanted backwards. He would walk backwards to his truck each morning and then drive to work, walk backwards all day while on the job, then repeat the procedure to get home. Had been doing that for some time. Steve tried it. It worked very well! At home Steve could walk backwards to the the stairs, then walk upstairs/downstairs forward, then walk backwards again. Someone questioned how PD patients can walk stairways but can not walk forward. The edge of the stair treads give the patient something to step over to trigger the walking response. In flat areas there is no such guide. For some reason, it seems that many PD patients have a better sense of balance when going backward than when trying to go forward. One thing that may work in flat areas is the use of a "cane" with a 4-5 inch angle on the bottom. The patient can then hold the cane in front of their foot to give them something to "step over". Just a couple of ideas from the past. Paul ----- Original Message ----- From: "Larry Wilson" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, September 18, 2002 6:10 PM Subject: Re: Physical Therapy When I said "dance" I meant that his wife would stand facing him and put her arms on his shoulders and he in turn would put his hands on her shoulders and they would walk...she backwards....until they get to their destination. the "dancing" was to show the position they walked...not literally dancing. PD is progressive. We have seen him walk with a shuffle taking short choppy steps until he began freezing and then falling. Gradually he could not walk without falling. This was over a time span of some 8 years. He could walk with support with me, his sons, and his wife up until recent time. He can't now since he was allowed to become immobile in the nursing home. The PD Dr (very good one) stated his fixed ligaments in his legs got that way because of the inactivity. This occurred over a time period of 5 months. Now the nursing home will attempt to get him back on his feet again.....but we don't know the prognosis now. In his wife transferring him to the car to the wheelchair to his home he was able to support himself in the transfer...as if he were going to walk. Now that is not happening. We are all realist....we know he has PD. But as many have said....exercise is what PWP need. In John's case he is not getting it. Yes, we take him in the wheelchair...even to a baseball game and to the shopping mall....and sometimes to church (rarely done now). We were all ignorant of PD and are continually becoming better informed.....but exercise should be part of his regiment....or else the stiffness gets stiffer and more rigid and his life is limited even more. Thank you for your ideas though. Larry ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn