Question:

Can you recommend any techniques for how to improve gait and balance? At present I tend to drag my right leg. If I go for a walk I am OK after about half a mile. I tend to drag my leg on short runs and around the house

John

Response:

First, Consider doing Tai Chi on a regular basis. It is a good idea to connect with a teacher who is proficient. There are excellent DVDs on Tai Chi that also extremely helpful if accessed on a regular basis.

Second, listen to the inspiring interview with Dancer Pamela Quinn who offers a variety of dynamite suggestions that provide suggestions for how to improve gait and balance.

One suggestion (among others from Pamela Quinn) for how to improve gait and balance

Third, Pamela offers a number of suggestions to persons with mobility challenges. She suggested for example that you practice kicking a soccer ball using the leg that drags. It helps to wake up that lazy leg.

You obviously do not want to kick a soccer ball while going to work or doing errands. Instead – you simply pretend that you are kicking the soccer ball as you walk from one place to the next. It works just as well as if you were actually kicking it.

Try bouncing a ball as you walk – just as you did when you were a boy. Your foot is dragging because your body is navigating through neural pathways that are dysfunctional. When you bounce a ball while you walk – you create new neural networks. This short circuits the old pathways that are presently hindering that lazy leg’s functionality.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery

Books
Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease
Pioneers of Recovery
Five Steps to Recovery

Resources
Dehydration Therapy: Aquas
Parkinsons Recovery Membership
Eye Drops for Cataracts