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>I was wondering if anyone could answer some question I have about a sentence >I read in a posting saying, >"There is a tendency to hold the arm on the affected side close to the body >with the elbow bent so that the hand hangs at about waist level." > >What does this have to do with Parkinson's and why do PWP do it? Why do >people bend their elbow? Is it more comfortable that way? Is it >subconscious? Conscious? Does it keep them more balanced? Does it have >something to do with the arm muscles? Do they realize that they are doing >it? Can they teach themselves not to do it if they want to? Barbara, To answer your question, IMOHO, I don't think it is something a PWD does consciously. The second part of that is, we don't swing our arms freely when we walk either. We can make an effort to consciously swing your affected arm, however, the price you pay is, what always happens when a PWP overdoes. I used to make my right arm swing freely, but finally got tired of having a sore right arm. I'm a "lefty" anyway but was really surprised exactly how much I do use my right hand & arm. For 5 years I was diagnosed as "Cerebellar Atrophy" & the only PD symptom I had was not swinging my right arm when I walked & keeping it close to the body. Finally after 5 years I started bending forward & shuffling, THANK GOD!!!!! That's when the PD was finally diagnosed & then, only because the Sinemet made such an improvement. It was wonderful for me as there is NO medication nor treatment for "Cerebellar Atrophy". Just a lot of sympathy from Neurologists!!! After 5 years of stumbling & falling I felt Sinemet was a wonder drug-- I still do!!!! Maybe later I'll experience bad side effects, but for now it is still my wonder drug!!! However, My MRI's do show some slight atrophy of the cerebellum, so I probably have a combination of PD & Cerebellar Atrophy. Also, during that 5 years I used to have to have my Punkinje Cells tested. It is done by a blood test which is sent, packed on dry ice, to Genica Pharmaceuticals Corporation in Worcester, Mass. (that test cost $360 & my insurance only paid half). There is one other place in California who does this kind of testing, but these two are the only ones in the U.S.A. Because of this association, I remember reading a couple of years ago, that Genica Corp. had been awarded a Govertment contract to improve upon a test they had for PD. It was a blood test. I don't remember reading anymore about it----Has anyone else? Wouldn't that be wonderful if they did have a simple blood test for PD? As Ever, Marjorie Moorefield just another librarian, (with PD)