By Emily Droege
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| Dr. Walter Lajara speaks during an open house at Elder Care last week. |
April 17, 2016
A dose of exercise can be the best medicine for anyone, even those diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. For individuals affected by the progressive movement disorder, Bartlesville’s Elder Care is now offering a new, cutting-edge program.
Parkinson Wellness Recovery! Moves is an adaptable exercise training program designed to maintain or restore skills that deteriorate and interfere with daily activities.
Elder Care’s Director of Physical Therapy Josh Lindblom explained that the program targets four functional movements that focus on posture and alignment, weight-shifting, trunk rotation and transitions.
“How you exercise is important. It’s not just use it or lose it. It is more if you use it, you improve it,” said Lindblom. “These different positions allow us to tailor an individualized program for anyone along the disease spectrum.”
The physical therapy team at Elder Care offers one-on-one therapy sessions, and Lindblom emphasized that a participant’s willingness to stick to regimented sessions is vital for long-term success.
Once a patient is independent in PWR! Moves, Lindblom said they can continue to perform their program at home, at the clinic as part of Elder Care’s Aftercare program or enroll in a PWR! Moves community class.
“The reality is that a combination of these three options will be necessary to maintain the gains they made in therapy,” he said. “In addition to their functional goals, my goals for our patients is to restore their safety, confidence and vitality, elevate their expectations for themselves, and motivate them to continue exercising from diagnosis until kingdom come.”
The PWR! program is part of an expansion at Elder Care’s Center for Healthly Aging &Neuro Health. Dr. Walter Lajara leads the center and is board certified in neurology and neuropsychiatry. He hopes the expansion into both support for patients with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s is used by the community. Lajara spoke during an open house at Elder Care last week.
“Part of my dream is for us to create somthing that is unique,” Lajara said. “An individual can come into this facility with Parkinson’s or Alzheimers’s disease, or any other form of dementia, at any stage of diagnosis — whether that is very mild symptoms in the beginning stages or whether you are in very advanced stages nearing the end of life. You can come through the doors of this facility and find all of the resources that you need and that your family needs to get the care provided.”
According to Lajara, adding the services Elder Care offers for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s patients is one-of-a-kind.
“That makes us not only unique in our general area, but that makes us quite unique in the entire country,” Lajara said. “There are very few facilities where an individual can come in and get basically everything they need through one door. This is a big commitment and I hear time and time again that when people come through our doors, they feel love, they feel special by all the staff as you come in.”
Worldwide, there are around 10 million people with the progressive movement disorder, and they struggle with stiff limbs, tremors and poor balance.
Recent advances in basic and clinical science research suggest exercise and learning approaches that promote aerobics may protect vulnerable neurons, repair damaged circuits, and optimize function in individuals with Parkinson’s disease.
“Studies show that aerobic exercise with large amplitude movements and high intensity yields improved walking speed, sleep habits, balance, strength, range of motion, confidence, sequencing, spatial awareness and mood,” Lindblom added.
The typical onset of Parkinson’s disease is between 55 and 65 years old, according to Lindblom, but there are incidences of diagnosis as early as the 20s.
He added that part of the brain that is affected by Parkinson’s disease (the substantia nigra), experiences 50-60 percent cell death before a person shows any significant symptoms.
Hallmark symptoms include flexed postures, unilateral or bilateral tremor, small or slow movements, rigidity, loss of facial expression, small handwriting and soft voice.
Lindblom encourages the community to schedule a physical therapy evaluation at Elder Care. He said participants do not need a physician referral to begin a therapy regimen for up to 30 days.
“We will create a plan of care together and seek approval from your physician. The PWR! community class will be available to people with Parkinson’s disease who have completed one-on-one physical therapy sessions and demonstrate knowledge of the program,” he said.
The class will meet two days per week and the quarterly cost will be between $150-$180. For more information, go to www.abouteldercare.org and www.pwr4life.org.
EE reporter Nathan Thompson contributed to this report.
http://examiner-enterprise.com/news/local-news/new-program-parkinson-s-patients
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