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My mother Joyce, 68/6 months, just concluded an exercise program at an osteopathic institute in NY (Old Westbury, LI). I wrote about the study 2 months ago and have the results. The study wasto see whether weight bearing exercises had an effect on gait, balance, and posture. The patients begins in an unmedicated state and performs a number of tasks while hooked up to some infra-red device that measures things precisely. Then for 8 weeks a program designed specifically for the subject's problems is followed -- all exercises are weight bearing and use the lower body only. After 8 weeks the patient/subject returns in an unmedicated state and repeats the tasks done originally. The results in my mother's case was that after 8 weeks she improved her ability to perform the weight-bearing tasks almost 100%. But more importantly, the preliminary results show that her gait and balance improved somewhere between 80%-100%! I was there for the evaluation and was able to see the visual comparison of her gait and it was astounding. At the outset of this study she hardly lifted her left toes while walking and hardly swung her left arm. After 8 weeks, her left toes lifted about as much as her right (the side that is unaffected by PD so far) and she had a limited, but better arm swing. There is more, but is not all compiled. The others in the study had similar results. The upshot is that weight-bearing exercises seem to have a dramatic effect on improving gait, balance, etc. And this dealt with the lower body only. My mother will soon be looking into working on her upper body, especially her shoulders and upper back. On a side note, the head of the study has done similar work with facial muscles (i.e., using specific exercises to improve muscle tone and then measuring the improvement) and will be hooking my mother up in a few weeks to help her with that region. The director is delighted with the results and hopes to get enough money to continue this and expand the program nationally. He's a biomedical engineer that has worked with PD patients for years and is devoted to the disease and helping those with it through exercise. Let me know if you want more information, and when it comes in, I'll provide you with what I can. Debbie White [log in to unmask]