Parkinson's Disease: Physical and Occupational Therapy

The symptoms of Parkinson's disease may cause you to move more slowly. You may also feel tightness, pain, and weakness, especially in the muscles and joints. Physical and occupational therapy may help with these symptoms.

How Does Physical Therapy Help?

Physical therapy cannot cure Parkinson's disease, because at this time, neurological damage cannot be reversed. But therapy can enable you to compensate for the changes brought about by the disease. These "compensatory treatments," as they're called, include learning about new movement techniques, strategies, and equipment. A physical therapist can teach you exercises to strengthen and loosen muscles. Many of these exercises can be performed at home. The goal of physical therapy is to improve your independence and quality of life by improving movement and function and relieving pain.

Physical therapy can help with:

• Balance problems
• Lack of coordination
• Fatigue
• Pain
• Gait
• Immobility
• Weakness

Important note: Some physical therapists may apply diathermy (local heat application produced by high-frequency electrical current) to relieve muscle aches and pains. This could be dangerous to patients who have deep brain stimulators. It is very important that DBS patients inform all their health care professionals of their stimulators so potential complications can be prevented.

Where Can I Receive Physical Therapy?

Many hospitals offer outpatient physical therapy services. However, you may need to get a doctor's order to be seen in physical therapy. If you feel you can benefit from physical therapy, do not hesitate to ask your doctor for a referral.

How Many Visits Will I Need?

Treatments in physical therapy often can be completed in 1-3 office visits. The first appointment includes an evaluation and recommendations for exercises. The following appointments check your progress and review and expand your home program. Most hospitals can provide additional sessions of outpatient physical therapy if a physical therapist is needed to attain an expected improvement in function.

What Other Services Does Physical Therapy Provide?

Recommendations. A physical therapist can make recommendations for physical therapy at home, at an outpatient facility, or at a nursing or rehabilitation facility.

Work capacity evaluations. Many physical therapists can perform functional capacity evaluations to provide more information for disability claims based on physical performance. This functional capacity evaluation can be useful when the Social Security office denies disability to a person who is unable to work for an eight-hour day.

What Is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational therapy can help people with Parkinson's disease stay active in daily life. By improving your skills, showing you different ways to complete tasks, or introducing you to handy equipment, an occupational therapist can help you perform everyday activities with greater ease and satisfaction. An occupational therapist may also recommend making changes to your home or workplace to promote your independence.