Benefits Of Working With Parkinson's Disease

Neurology is one of the most unexplored fields in medicine; however, more recently there has been a spike in the amount of research being done in this specialty. This is because people are becoming more interested in neuroscience, including myself. I attended a pre-medical vocational high school, which exposed me to a greater amount of knowledge pertaining to the basics of anatomy and physiology, along with hands-on opportunities in a medical setting. It was here where I realized that I wanted to pursue a career in medicine; however, due to the fact medical field is very broad, I had no set specialty. This changed when I was exposed to the cruel manifestations of Parkinson’s Disease. During, sophomore year of high school, my grandfather passed away due to complications of Parkinson’s Disease. The way that a neurodegenerative disease was able to overtake a person in the manner that it did was shocking, and while it brought me great grief initially, it later intrigued me. I took up an interest in neuroscience and began to do my own research which culminated in various projects and applications throughout the remainder of my time in high school. These experiences have culminated in my decision to work toward a Cell Biology and

Diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease is extremely important in terms of treating the symptoms before the disease gets worse. It is common for patients with PD to have motor symptoms such as gait disorder, which comes from muscle stiffness/rigidity, bradykinesia, postural imbalance, etc. Gait disorders can generally help determine how far the neurological disorder has affected the motor function and control of the individual. Many physicians in general clinics determine if a patient has PD or if it has progressed through evaluating the patients gait pattern, focused on a direct path walking. The problem with this way of diagnosis is that direct paths would generally require the clinic to have a space of 100-meter length for the patient to walk;

Exercises and physical activity have been associated with numerous health benefits including reducing incidences of falls and injuries among the elderly and the geriatric population. Appropriately exercise programs and cardiovascular fitness in older people improve strength and balance. The interventions included strengthening, endurance, balance, flexibility exercises, Tai Chi, stand up/step down procedure and walking exercises. In the first research, the findings were that program targeting balance, leg strength, and freezing gait were only effective in people with milder illnesses, as opposed to more serious disorders like Parkinson’s disease. The study was done for a period of 2 years. In the second research, the findings showed that a multi-component enhanced physical performance of the community indwelling adults but did not translate to psychological outcomes or reduced rates of falling.

Elimination of patient falls is not an easy task otherwise they would have been eliminated by now. Patient falls unfortunately continue to be a challenge and occur within the hospital and nursing home settings at alarming and sometimes deadly rates. The Center for Disease Control estimates that 1,800 older adults living in nursing homes die each year from fall-related injuries. Survivors frequently sustain injuries resulting in permanent disability and reduced quality of life. Annually, a typical nursing home with 100 beds reports 100 to 200 falls and many falls go unreported (CDC, 2015). Falls occur more often in nursing homes because patients are generally weaker, have more chronic illnesses, have difficulty ambulating, memory issues,

Falls are highly common amongst the elderly, particularly those who lack mobility, are in hospital, or are living in a nursing home. When an elderly person falls, their activities of daily living may be impacted due to injuries sustained from the fall. It is essential that precautions are put in place to prevent falls in all settings. This essay will discuss the statistics surrounding falls, prevention strategies, and the impacts of a fall on a patient’s ability to complete activities of daily living.

Chung et al. (2013), Effectiveness of resistance training on muscle strength and physical function in people with Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis . I chose this article most relevant because it is systemic peer review and quantitative in nature. In addition, the study selected seven databases (COCHRANE, CINAL, Scopus, Web of Science, ISI, Embase, MEdline ISI and Psycinfo) with full text and from 1946 to 2014. The randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of resistance training on muscle and fall prevention as physical functional activities. The systemic review result which support the hypothesis and demonstrate positive results. The moderate intensity, progressive resistance training 2-3 times per week to 10weeks result in significant strength, fall prevention(balance) and motor symptoms gains. The weakness of the study is they did not compare two kinds of resistive exercises which are more beneficial to improve condition, for instance-resisted static cycling, light weight lifting. I would like to use this article result in my clinical practice in patient with PD to improve muscle strength, balance and to prevent

“Previous studies showed a high incidence of recurrent falls in people with PD, ranging from 18% to 65% in a 1-year period” (Almeida et al., 2016, p. 1075). Falls are a risk for many people with Parkinson’s disease. People who have Parksinson’s disease and have issues with gait control have frequent falls. Nurses help care for individuals who have Parkinson’s when they enter the care facility. Exercising on a regular basis can help decrease the amount of falls with patients who have Parkinson’s disease. This paper will be located in a long term care facility and discuss how decreasing falls can improve quality of life in patients who have Parkinson’s disease.

The goal of physical therapy for people with Parkinson's Disease is to help them perform every day activities with the disease. Walking is one of the most common difficulties people with Parkinson's Disease encounter, and is one of the areas physical therapist spend a lot of time with. One way physical therapist help their patients walk is by using visual cues. An example of a visual cue is white lines on the floor spaced at step length. Another area of concern that a physical therapist would address is turning around. An elderly person without Parkinson's Disease can do a 360 turn in fewer than six steps. A person with Parkinson's Disease usually needs to take twenty steps. A physical therapist would address this by training the person to concentrate in a larger arc of movement and to use a full body movement (Morris).

In February, I had the opportunity to volunteer as a student nurse at one of Fresno State’s SAFE Balance screening sessions. This event was not only specifically important to our community, but to the entire realm of medical field in general because people are living longer. Not only is the elderly population increasing, they also are having to live with many other health issues, which is where medical professionals’ come into play to promote disease prevention, wellness, and overall living a lifestyle in the healthiest and most independent way possible. Precisely, one of the major health concerns among the elderly, is their risk for falls, since falls are growing an increasing problem in fractures, which often lead to other health problems.

Nowadays being at risk for falling could be life threating for the elderly population, which is a big concern for most health care professionals. Physicians, physical therapist, occupational therapist, physical therapist assistants and other groups of health workers play a major role in reducing fall risks for older adults. Therefore, the elderly population should have a targeted multifactorial assessment focused on fall prevention. According to the Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy of the American Physical Therapy Association, there is evidence that falls can be prevented by detecting risk factors and prescribing recommendations to reduce the chance of fall (Avin, Keith G, ; Hanke, Timothy A; Kirk-Sanchez, Neva; McDonough, Christine M; Shubert, Tiffany E; et al, Jun 2015).

Injuries resulting from falls are a serious health concern, especially with the growing elderly population. In adults aged 65 or more, injuries are the sixth leading cause of death and falls are the leading cause of these injuries (Al-Faisal, 2006, p. 5). Injuries from these falls may also reduce a person’s mobility and independence. “In the United States, one in every three older adults falls each year. In 1997, nearly 9,000 persons aged >65 years died from falls. Of those who fall, 20%-30% sustain moderate to severe injuries that reduce mobility and independence and increase the risk for premature death” (Al-Faisal, 2006, p. 5). We need fall prevention training set up in communities and in people’s homes to limit the

Falls are a major problem in elderly population in the United States living in nursing facilities. Statistics from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) show that approximately 800,000 seniors fall each year and 1 in 3 of those will fall twice or one more time in a year. (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2012). Most falls are caused by a combination of risk factors. The more risk factors a person has, the greater their chances of falling. Healthcare providers can help cut down a person’s risk by reducing the fall risk factors

Can you imagine living with a life-changing chronic disorder and not being able to get the help and care that you need because of the cost? Unfortunately, that is the reality that an overwhelming sum of Americans living with Parkinson’s disease are facing today. Parkinson’s disease is a chronic and progressive movement disorder that affects nearly one million people in the United States and has detrimental ramifications, affecting not only people living with the disease, but also their families and friends. With certain treatments, like speech therapy, their lives can be improved dramatically. Sadly, many people living Parkinson’s cannot get the help that they need because they cannot afford these services, and are faced with a substantial amount of costs that come along with the disease. By supporting the Medicare

Impairments can contribute to an increased risk of falls at all stages following a stroke.2,5 As a result of these impairments, stroke has been classified as the most disabling chronic disease, with about 80% of individuals falling within the first three months from loss of balance when walking.2,5 In addition, approximately 70% of individuals who have had a stroke experience ongoing difficulty with ambulation within the first year.2 One research study revealed that patients post stroke have fall rates that range from 3.8 to 22%, and the incidence of falls range from 1.3 to 6.5 times in the year after the stroke.1 Furthermore, stroke has been identified as the primary cause of disability in the United States and the third leading cause of death in people over the age of

Strengths of this trial included the randomization of participants into equal groups, use of parametric tests, use of non- investigator testers, use of the Biodex Stability System identified as an effective assessment to stimulate the use of dynamic conditions and detect the presence of balance disorders (Revel, Mingret, & Ergory, 1994), assent from children participants along with consent from parents, and the use of a test session to limit participants’ apprehension toward the vibration and the suspension treatment. Trial limitations were small sample size, use of convenience sample; participants coming from the same source, lack of definition of “frequent falling” and the use in the inclusion criteria of a balance test geared mostly to the elderly.