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in response to Mark to Alan's response, Mark wrote: The current thinking in PT is that rigidity MAY be worsened with strength training. There have been no studies to validate this HYPOTHESIS. To me it seems almost like a tradeoff between the benefits of exercise and the drawbacks of exercise. Strength training will increase strength in PD (not published yet) and this may help to prevent falling or, at least, greatly decrease the odds of falling. Strength training may also increase rigidity. Is PT physical training (there is also physical therapy - which may have it's own hypotheses ... I have only briefly interacted with one practioner in this field)? Since 'rigidity' is a term used for the inappropriate tensioning of both sets of opposed movement muscles ... because of less-than-adequate brain neurotransmitter(s) which leave normal, relaxed muscle status persist until 'voluntary' movement is decided ... I expect little or no effect of stronger muscles upon rigidity. However, the stronger muscle attainable from isometric tensioning may be one part of rigidity. My sense is that the chronic tension of rigidity causes ligature creep in the jargon of the structural failure analysis. I further conjecture that the use of stronger muscles with weakened ligatures can perhaps explain my sore neck-shoulder bio-sector on the affected right side. The bones and muscles appear larger -- and have been damaged in the past when overstressed serving tennis balls and throwing a softball overhand from center field to home plate to recall two personal incidents. Id est, the rigidity may not be changed, but overstressing the ligaments and/or the bone ligatures or socket portions may be more likely. Mark also wrote: In my opinion, PD is not just a CNS condition, but also a problem that has to do with the peripheral systems. We know very well that athletes who train with weights can produce a great period of muscular relaxation following a workout. Maybe this will also work for PD persons...relaxation following a hard workout. You might have the means at hand to make first approximation tests of the pre- and post- exercise status of rigidity using your participant PD exercisers. Nota bene, however, they may have benefitted from the training to date ... which obviously requires testing untrained newly recruited candidates. My own experience is that often my exercising ends with me feeling and being slow as well as tired ... id est, low in dopamine ... rather OFF. It has been a while since I have felt the athlete's 'high' from the endorphins (serotonin?). Mark also wrote: PD has been called the "falling sickness". The ability to control balance is, in part, also due to muscle strength. (nit-picking, the 'also' refers to the same statement.) Strength training per your processes may train or re-train the physical bio-components and/or neural network(s) comprising balancing. Mark also wrote: It seems that persons who remain active throughout their PD outlive persons who are sedentary. This truism applies to Stephen Hawking and numerous quadriplegics and others who 'remain active' only in the brain-mind sense (with no significant motor functionality - only heart-lungs and digestion systems going). Ron <[log in to unmask]> Ronald F. Vetter