Cycling with Parkinson's

[fiamme red]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/health/01parkinsons.html?scp=1&sq=cycling%20provides%20a%20break&st=cse

The problem is getting on and off the bike, and stopping and starting in traffic. The best solution is probably to ride a tandem as stoker.

[thwart]

“I said, ‘This cannot be,’ ” Dr. Bloem, a professor of neurology and medical director of the hospital’s Parkinson’s Center, recalled in a telephone interview. “This man has end-stage Parkinson’s disease. He is unable to walk.”

But the man was eager to demonstrate, so Dr. Bloem took him outside where a nurse’s bike was parked.

“We helped him mount the bike, gave him a little push, and he was gone,” Dr. Bloem said. He rode, even making a U-turn, and was in perfect control, all his Parkinson’s symptoms gone.

Yet the moment the man got off the bike, his symptoms returned. He froze immediately, unable to take a step.

Amazing.

I knew bicycling was good stuff... but that is literally a miracle story.

[Louis]

Incredible. However, if you were to ask the drivers around here, I think they would tell you that all cyclists are brain-damaged in one way or another... :crap:

[Dekonick]

I hope this isn't an April fools hoax...

[SPOKE]

Davis Phinney does it.

[tiger]

Davis Phinney does it.
And so do I!

--Tiger, diagnosed age 48, now 50 and still live to ride....

[Bruce K]

There are many stories about how cycling provides a venue for Parkinson's patients to be active and find some relief for their symptoms.

The Davis Phinney Foundation is working to promote cycling and other motion-based programs as one way to aleviate some of the symptoms and provide a better quality of life for those folks.

It's one of the reasons I am a big supporter.

BK

[rickbb]

And so do I!

--Tiger, diagnosed age 48, now 50 and still live to ride....

That's awesome, Tiger!
You're an inspiration to us.

[Skrawny]

It makes sense. The most common problem -at least initially- is "resting tremor," which is "maximal when the limb is at rest and disappearing with voluntary movement and sleep" (Jankovic, J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr(April 2008).

I remember when Muhammad Ali lit the torch in the Atlanta Olympics (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TaITzi64Sw), his free hand was shaking, but his torch hand was steady
-s

[tiger]

It makes sense. The most common problem -at least initially- is "resting tremor," which is "maximal when the limb is at rest and disappearing with voluntary movement and sleep" (Jankovic, J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr(April 2008).

I remember when Muhammad Ali lit the torch in the Atlanta Olympics (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TaITzi64Sw), his free hand was shaking, but his torch hand was steady
-s
Yes, but everyone is different and in some people, tremor is not the predominant symptom. For me rigidity and bradykinesia predominate - and the biggest impediment I have when riding is the dystonia from my meds. When you see those dance-like movements that Michael J. Fox twists and contorts with during interviews, that is the effect of medication (mostly). The treatment is only slightly better than the disease, and has many of its own problems. Still, without meds I'd be about as mobile as an icycle, so I'm happily compliant with my meds. As for resting vs intention tremor - at work I can still suture very precisely, it just takes me twice as long as it used to. Since I used to be twice as fast as everyone else, I'm still viewed as useful!

[tylercheung]

as per tiger - the *defining* symptom of PD is bradykinesia/hypokinesia. The tremor, while often the most disturbing appearing symptom, is often cosmetic, although in some people it is severe enough to cause some problems.

The phenomenon of the bicycle relates to the loss of automated "motor programs" of the brain we take for granted - mostly walking - patients "forget" how to take a step and get frozen in place - they often need a sensory cue to overcome the block. For some reason, cycling provides this sort of cue.