I met Mr. D in January 2015 in our outpatient department in Kings Norton Birmingham. He just had the devastating news that he had Parkinson’s.
He had several problems:
- Frozen shoulder with a pain due to very poor arm swing.
- Tremor in mainly his left hand.
- Unable to get out of the bath.
- Unable to be a referee for his football club.
- Feeling anxious and low.
Physiotherapy for Parkinsons Disease
The first time I met him he just started on his medication for the Parkinsons treatment. His consultant already referred him to his local Parkinson’s team in the NHS. I advised him to try conductive education as well and see a podiatrist to get the right support for his feet.
I gave him specific exercises to do, to improve his shoulder. In September, he had no pain in the shoulder anymore and had near normal range. The tremor remained but was not worse. He is able to get out of the bath as he exercised the right muscles to get out of the bath. He is also back to refereeing at his football club although on a lower level. He is obviously still anxious at times but feels much more in control and he knows that despite a chronic illness, with the right exercise you can do more than you think.
I have seen him mainly as an outpatient at Kings Norton but we also met at his local gym to encourage him by starting an independent exercise regime as his physiotherapy for Parkinsons Disease.
I saw Mr. D weekly for 6 weeks. Now, I see him every 6-8 weeks to see if there are changes needed in his exercise regime and Parkinsons treatment. Is the Parkinson’s changing? Is Mr. D doing his exercises? Flexibility is needed as a therapist. There might come a time he will need pushing again for 4- 6 weeks and we can deliver this if we need to.
I am very lucky that his wife, an old colleague of mine, referred him to me as it proved to me again that physiotherapy can help with chronic neurological illness and I feel very sad that the NHS is closing the doors for people who have these challenges in their lives. Mr. D worked and works very hard to stay as mobile as possible and I will have to applaud him for this, as he has achieved a lot in a relatively short and difficult time.
Request a call back via 0121 7443576 or contact@mirandasphysiosteps.com with your name and number and we will get back to you asap. Weekend and out of hours appointments on request.