As part of our Summer of Sport campaign, we’ve been looking at tips and guidance to help people with Parkinson’s get active and find the right exercise for them.
Whether you are a health professional wanting to include physical activity into your consultations or looking to signpost patients to ideas on getting started with exercise, we have found six key resources for health professionals and people living with Parkinson’s.
1. Move for medicines
This UK-based organisation provides clinicians and allied health professionals with accessible, evidence-based, condition-specific information to help give advice on physical activity at all stages of treatment pathways. They also provide toolkits for hospitals to help people be more active during and after their time in hospital. The project has been developed in collaboration with experts, professional bodies and charities representing patients and healthcare professionals in each disease area. Check out the Parkinson’s specific step-by-step guides.
2. Exercise framework for professionals
Developed by Parkinson’s UK, this framework includes key messages for professionals and examples of exercises. The framework is aimed at helping people with Parkinson’s choose exercise styles that are right for them and their symptoms.
3. Guide to overcoming exercise barriers in Parkinson’s
This recent guide was developed by Parkinson’s Europe President, Josefa Domingos, who is a neuro physical therapist specialising in Parkinson’s and other movement disorders. The downloadable 10-page guide outlines the common exercise and fitness issues faced by people with Parkinson’s – and how to overcome them. Currently this is available in four languages but watch this space as we aim to translate it into further European languages in the future. (Think you can help us translate the guide into another language? Email us!)
4. Guidance for professionals delivering exercise remotely to people with Parkinson’s
Another great guidance document from Parkinson’s UK contains helpful tips and hints for health professionals for professionals delivering physical activity remotely to people with Parkinson’s.
5. Make your move: exercise for brain health and life with Parkinson’s
The Michael J. Fox Foundation has created this comprehensive guide to answer questions such as: “How hard should I work?” “How many times a week should I exercise?” “How do I work out with symptoms, as disease progresses, as I get older and have more aches and pains?” “How can I motivate my loved one with Parkinson’s to move more?” This resource answers these questions and more and offers practical tools and tips for exercise, wherever you are in life or life with Parkinson’s.
6. Parkinson’s exercise recommendations
A downloadable fact sheet developed by the Parkinson’s Foundation. This short and easily digestible fact sheet is now available in nine languages (English, French, German, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish)
And finally, don’t forget to signpost your patients to the wide range of resources available on the Parkinson’s Europe website.
In addition to the information and resources on our Physical Activity and Exercise page, we have also created a Parkinson’s Sports and Exercise Hub with listings, contacts and useful information on a wide range of physical activities, from cycling to powerlifting.
