April is Parkinson’s disease awareness month

March 19, 2018

During April we hope to increase awareness of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and its symptoms and to provide interested individuals with access to resources. Parkinson’s disease belongs to a group of conditions called Motor System Disorders. The disease is both chronic and progressive, resulting in a loss of dopamine, a substance that is essential to normal nerve activity in the brain.

Approximately 3 million people in the U.S. have Parkinson’s-like disorders, 1.5 million of whom have been diagnosed with the disease. Each year, approximately 60,000 more Americans are diagnosed as having PD, with someone being diagnosed every nine minutes.

Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease include slowness of movement, loss of balance and coordination, tremor, rigidity or stiffness, loss of balance, “freezing in place,” softness of speech, and uncontrolled movements. As these symptoms become more pronounced, patients may have difficulty walking, talking, swallowing, or completing daily tasks.

Although most people with PD are over 60, an estimated 20 percent are under 50 and referred to as having “young onset Parkinson’s disease” or YOPD.

A Parkinson’s Moving Day will be held April 21 with a total of 39 walks being held all across the nation. In Arkansas, the walk will be held at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock with registration beginning at 9 a.m., the walk at 10 a.m.

Some of the fun events available at Moving Day are as follows: 9:15-9:30 a.m. LSVT BIG; Chair Yoga while we are walking, for those who choose not to walk, from 10:15 a.m.; 10:45-11 a.m. Rock Steady Boxing; 11:05-11:20 a.m. Tai Chi; and 11:40-noon Yoga for Parkinson’s.

No pets will be allowed. Golf cart transportation will be provided to and from the parking lot and to Razorback field for those who need it.

For more information on the walk, contact Kristin Trulock at 501-590-8948 or ktrulock@parkinson.org.

To obtain more information on the disease or how to help an individual with it, contact www.apdaparkinson.org or 1-718-981-8083; www.parkinson.org or 1-800-473-4636; www.ninds.nih.govor contact Area Agency on Aging of Southwest Arkansas Inc. at 870-234-7410, Ext. 105, or toll free in Arkansas, 1-800-272-2127, Ext. 105.

http://www.magnoliabannernews.com/news/2018/mar/19/april-parkinsons-disease-awareness-month/