Dating is hard when you have Parkinson’s disease, but it can also be fun! Learn how to narrow the search for your soul mate by being true to yourself and open minded with others.
Your mouth is dry. Your palms are sweating. Your heart is practically beating through your chest. You look down at your hands and notice they’re shaking uncontrollably. What if you freeze and not know what to say? What if you fall and fall hard?
Moments like these make it tough to tell whether your Parkinson’s is acting up or if it’s a merely a case of the first-date jitters.
Looking for love with Parkinson’s has its own set of challenges. That’s why we came up with five tips to make your search a little bit easier.
1.Get out there and socialize (virtually).
If you’re actively looking for love, you may want to get with the times and give online dating a chance. The world has come a long way since the early days of chatrooms and personal ads. There are all kinds of dating sites available, from the well known Tinder and Bumble apps to online sites specifically for people with chronic conditions, such as Prescription4Love.com.
2.Be honest and upfront.
So maybe “I have Parkinson’s” is not the first thing you disclose to every person you encounter. But when it comes to dating, you shouldn’t wait too long to tell a potential mate that you have Parkinson’s. Some people are so fearful of telling their crushes the truth about their disease that they’ll make up other excuses for symptoms like stiffness, tremors and balance issues. Trust us, this will only backfire in the end.
Just rip off the proverbial Band-Aid and get it over with. We shouldn’t have to worry about making people feel uncomfortable about the things we can’t change about ourselves. Parkinson’s doesn’t define who you are as a person, but it is a part of you. Anyone who can’t see past your disease isn’t worth your time anyway. You deserve someone who loves you for you.
3.Know your physical capabilities and your limitations.
A lot of people are hooked on televised dating shows like “The Bachelor” where couples go on these intense, action-packed adventures that start with skydiving lessons and end up in a hot tub where things get awkward. Yet despite our addiction to reality TV, we all know that dating in real life is far less exciting and far more complicated.
Be realistic when it comes to dating with Parkinson’s. Account for the realities of your disease when planning dates. Stick to your usual medication routine, meal plans and rest times. Keep emergency contacts and medical information in your wallet or on your phone wherever you go, and never forget your charger. Let a loved one know who you are meeting, where you are going and when you expect to return. You might share the full name and phone number of your date with that person for safety purposes.
Dress comfortably and practically. You don’t want to go on a romantic stroll downtown wearing stilettos when you already learned the hard way that high heels can lead to balance issues and falls. Wear clothing that you can easily button, zip or tie by yourself after trips to the restroom.
4.Have patience, confidence and an open mind.
Dating is frustrating for everyone, and finding the right person takes time. If you felt a spark, but they didn’t, don’t blame yourself if there isn’t a second date. It’s not automatically a reflection on you. Everyone has their own insecurities and emotional baggage. Try to give people the benefit of the doubt whenever possible. Don’t assume someone is only looking at you through the lens of your disease if/when a relationship doesn’t work out.
If a relationship ends, dust yourself off and try again. Never settle for someone who doesn’t give you the dignity and respect that all people deserve. It’s what’s on the inside that counts, so honor yourself by seeking a partner with the same values. Remember that going on dates is like trying on outfits in a dressing room – not everyone is going to be a perfect fit. It’s not always about you. It’s not always about them. Sometimes it simply is what it is.
5.Don’t forget to enjoy being single.
There’s a reason why people in relationships envy the freedom that comes with the bachelor or bachelorette life. What are you going to do when you wake up in the morning? Whatever you darn please because you’re single and you can! Ha!
Sure, you want companionship. But it’s better to appreciate what you have instead of fixating on the things you don’t. Whenever you feel lonely, remember that you have friends and family who enjoy your company. Savor this free time to yourself. Use it as an opportunity to imbibe in self-care. Concentrate on being the best you that you can be, and everything else will fall into place.
By Kathryn Jones
San Francisco Ballet School Director Patrick Armand knows firsthand the benefits of exercise for Parkinson’s. His mother Colette Armand, a ballet teacher, lived with the disease.
So when the ballet school had the opportunity to start new dance programs, Patrick reached out to Kaiser Permanente to partner on a class for people with Parkinson’s.
That partnership started with a pilot dance program for Parkinson’s in the fall of 2017. The free-of-charge, eight-week course was open to both people living with the disease and their support partners who had the opportunity to learn from ballet instructor Cecelia Beam, who is also trained in Dance for PD®.
Today Kaiser Permanente and SF Ballet School are offering a yearlong series of classes for people with Parkinson’s and their support partners. BGF sat down with Cecelia, to learn more about the program.
BGF: Tell us a little about yourself.
CB: I went to high school at North Carolina School of the Arts, a well known arts school, and was on track to becoming a professional ballet dancer. But in college, I found I also had other interests, including medicine and physical therapy. After college, I began teaching ballet, primarily to adults. Years later, I gained a position as the HR Manager at the San Francisco Ballet, and have been honored to be a part of the company for over 20 years.
I’ve since retired from my HR career, but have kept teaching ballet and working in our Education and Training Department. When the Parkinson’s program was starting to form, I was selected to run the program because of my mix of administrative and teaching backgrounds.
BGF: Tell us more about the program.
CB: The program aims to provide a dance experience for participants as well as create a community for people with Parkinson’s. We start with an orientation at the beginning of each new session, so participants can get to know each other. I’ve had feedback that for at least one participant, this was the first time he had spoken publically about his condition. So community building is a big part of the program.
For the dance experience, we access movements from the ballets that are being performed on stage by the SF Ballet Company. I work with a pianist to modify the dances. For example, right now SF Ballet is performing The Sleeping Beauty, and I’ve choreographed a modified version of the Bluebird Variation from ACT III for the class.
During the pilot, we modified the Grandfather’s Dance from the Nutcracker. At the end of the session, the trainees from the San Francisco Ballet School came and performed some of the Nutcracker variations for the Parkinson’s dancers. The trainees and Parkinson’s dancers all finished the class together – it was very poignant to see them move together.
BGF: How do you modify the dances?
CB: Sometimes we’ll slow down the movements to half time, or just do the arms and remain in the chair. When standing, I’m careful about not doing backwards movements, which are not particularly safe for people with Parkinson’s. I also change tight or quick turns into very controlled, slow walks in a circle. We all start class in a chair, and everyone has the option to remain in a chair, if that makes them more comfortable.
BGF: What is one of the biggest benefits of participating in this program?
CB: The students get to learn dances that inspire artistic expression. We move to live music performed exquisitely by School Pianist Jamie Narushchen, and we dance in a beautiful studio. It really lifts their spirits and makes them feel special! They feel attached to the organization and supported by the community we’re building.
For more information about the dance class for Individuals with Parkinson’s classes at the San Francisco Ballet School, contact Cecelia Beam at cbeam@sfballet.org or 415-865-6583.
Photo Credit: San Francisco Ballet School PD Class (© Chris Hardy)
Get through freezing episodes and strengthen your stride with cues from a metronome, bouncing along a balance-challenging nylon strap, and other tips.
Parkinson’s can affect the way you walk. It’s not surprising these often-visible problems—which include shuffling, shortened or too-fast steps, and a freezing gait—are among the most frustrating symptoms for people with this disease.
Freezing of gait, in particular, is a big problem. According to 2017 research from the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease, people with PD say the disease gets in the way of their ability to walk properly more than any other motor or non-motor symptom.
The good news is that there are many strategies to improve gait and freezing episodes. Gaining a stronger, more confident stride will help you maintain or improve your mobility and the independence that comes with it.
Looking for nimble feet? Try these five tips:
1. Feel the beat.
Our ears can help our feet establish a rhythm, and many studies have shown using audio cues from a metronome or counting out time can get you moving out of freezing episode.
Wear a clip-on metronome on your belt or download a metronome app for your smartphone; when you freeze, turn it on and use the beat to help you restart your steps. You can also try saying “1, 2, 3, go” out loud or in your head and taking a step forward on “go.”
Listening to music while walking can also help you walk faster and take longer, better-timed steps, according to studies comparing walking between people moving to a groove and those walking in silence.
2. Use visual cues.
Your eyes can help rid your feet of that glued-to-the-floor feeling, which often happens when something interrupts your normal walking rhythm. This can be a doorway, changing direction or turning around, or a distracting object or environment.
Try using a laser pointer to beam a line onto the floor in front of you. Seeing the line will help you step over it. You can also try imagining a line on the floor and stepping over it.
Small spaces, such as closets, can also cause freezing episodes. If areas in your home are problematic, put some tape on the floor to create permanent lines you can step over.
Neutral-colored floors and uncluttered spaces can also keep distractions that cause freezing to a minimum. Try moving bright rugs and other eye-catching objects out of your home’s main pathways.
3. Hop on a treadmill.
A 2015 review of 17 trials looking at how regular treadmill walking affected gait in PD patients concluded that treadmills do help people with Parkinson’s walk faster and take longer steps. Many people saw benefits after working up to 30 minutes of treadmill walking at their own pace four to five days a week.
Safety is paramount when using the treadmill. Use the handgrips when you need to and always clip the safety key (which should be found on the machine’s console) to your clothes. If you fall, it will bring the treadmill to automatic stop. Consumer Reports offers more important treadmill safety tips.
4. Sample the slacklining trend.
Slacklining, challenging your balance by walking along a bouncy 2-inch-wide flat nylon strap strung a foot or so above the ground, is popular on college campuses and parks where the young and hip gather. But scientists are also finding that slacklining is useful for people with PD.
In a 2016 study, people with PD who did two 30-minute slackline sessions a week for six weeks had significantly fewer freezing episodes and were less afraid of falling than those who did their normal routines—and they were less tired overall. The practice also helps improve balance, concentration, and core and lower body strength.
5. Get advice from a specialist.
Movement disorder experts, who are neurologists specializing in motor problems, can help you identify and treat your individual gait issues, which may change over time. They can teach strategies like the ones above, and many more, and refer you to physical therapists who can work with you to improve your gait.
BONUS TIP: If you really want to get into symptom-busting territory, join the Power Through Project. This social exercise tool was created exclusively for people with Parkinson’s and their supporters. It lets you track your workouts, find PD-friendly exercise classes and meet others in the community—all while learning how certain types of exercises improve symptoms. What have you got to lose?
By Emily Delzell
Like many of you, when I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, I was overwhelmed with questions. What do I do now? How do I deal with this?
But I knew one thing – taking medication and hoping for the best wasn’t enough.
Luckily I found the Brian Grant Foundation. The information they provided about exercise, nutrition and basic wellness gave me hope that I could delay the symptoms of this disease and have a good quality of life.
Working with the Brian Grant Foundation, we brought a boot camp for Parkinson’s class to the area where I live. Over the past year, my boot camp buddies and I have seen significant progress in improving our mobility. We feel better because of the class. Plus we love the camaraderie!
I’ve also participated in the wellness retreats and cooking classes. In addition to learning about a healthy diet and activities that can reduce stress and improve mobility, I’ve also gained confidence and energy to keep moving forward and do whatever I can to manage my Parkinson’s symptoms.
I know I’m fortunate to have the Brian Grant Foundation in my area. My uncle, who also has Parkinson’s, lives in an area of the country where resources to exercise and eat well with Parkinson’s aren’t readily available.
That’s why I’m asking you to join me in supporting the Brian Grant Foundation. My hope is that one day everyone with Parkinson’s will have access to the resources that the Brian Grant Foundation provides.
I also hope to continue doing the things I love for as long as possible. One of those things is dancing – I love dancing! I believe that if I keep exercising and eating well, I’ll be able to go back and dance on the beach in Aruba when I’m 80 years old.
On behalf of those of us that are benefitting from the Brian Grant Foundation’s programs, I want to thank you for your support. I know these programs wouldn’t be possible without you.
Keep powering forward!
Lynn Hubert
To help support our programs for more people, like Lynn, please consider making a year-end, tax-deductible donation. Happy holidays!
Tired of the track or treadmill but know you need regular exercise to effectively manage your Parkinson’s symptoms? A relaxing game of golf may be just what the doctor ordered.
Golf requires frequent changes in activity and direction that help challenge your brain, balance and coordination. Doctors call this a “random practice” exercise. Regular exercise is a healthy must for everyone, but this type of workout is particularly helpful for people with Parkinson’s disease because it makes you stop and think about your position and movement before each swing.
Swinging a golf club keeps your torso flexible and involves reaching actions that help reduce rigidity and stiffness, a common PD symptom. The movements also help ward off “freezing,” the symptom in which one is literally stuck—or frozen—in position and unable to move. Nix the golf cart (if you can) and take some large strides across the course for an extra health boost.
A day on the putting green can also soothe stress, which can make you feel better overall. Stress and anxiety often make tremors and other Parkinson’s symptoms worse.
Drive to Thrive
Brian Grant strongly encourages people with Parkinson’s to tee up and take a swing. The power forward-turned-avid golfer learned he had young-onset PD at age 36, after retiring from the NBA. He finds golf a fun and relaxing way to keep his Parkinson’s symptoms in check. Each year, Brian plays in the BRIX Tavern’s Annual Golf Tournament, Gabe Pigotti Memorial Golf Tournament and others, with proceeds benefitting the Brian Grant Foundation.
Think about the Long Game
Sure, shaky hands or an unsteady stance might throw off that perfect putt from time to time. But every golfer gets occasional jitters (called the yips) that lead to a swing and a miss. So, don’t worry about always sinking that birdie or bogey or making par. Instead, remember the health benefits. Think about how you’re improving your range of motion and reducing stiffness with each swing.
If you’re an avid golfer and want to stabilize your stroke, consider a golf club designed for those with Parkinson’s and related neurodegenerative diseases. Such equipment is promoted to help reduce unwanted or uncontrollable motion.
Can’t make it to the green? Try golfing at home with an exercise-based video game. Research shows video golfing (with a Wii, PlayStation, or Kinect, for example) is a reasonable and safe option for people with PD.
Live better with Parkinson’s. Learn more about the benefits of exercise for Parkinson’s disease and find fun classes in your area by connecting with the Power Through Project. You can also share your journey with others who are living with Parkinson’s.
By Kelli Miller
It’s easy to see why Alex Flynn considers himself an adventurer. He’s run through the Sahara desert, Bavarian Alps and Amazon jungle. Alex has run, walked, biked, climbed and kayaked 3,256 miles across the US. His adventures have even taken him on foot from London to Rome, where the Pope blessed him.
All told, Alex has raced the equivalent distance of about 240 marathons in under four years as part of his 10 Million Metres challenge. He embarked on the challenge to raise funds for a cause close to his heart – Parkinson’s research.
Alex was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson’s in 2008.
“I was obsessed with sports before my diagnosis,” he says. “Now I want to turn that obsession into a way to get people moving to make this disease manageable.”
In fact, Alex was able to cut down his Parkinson’s medications while he was crossing the US. “Exercise is absolutely key,” he says.
Alex”s adventures extend beyond sports. He’s a father, speaker, and writer. Alex is also one of the founders of Spotlight YOPD, a charity that focuses on people with Young Onset Parkinson’s disease.
“I’m motivated by the hundreds of thousands of people who don’t yet know they have PD,” he says. “We need medical advancements to help these people. I will live with this disease for the remainder of my life, but someone else doesn’t need to.”
There’s only one thing that can slow Alex down – his wife. “She worries I’ll get hurt, also the stress of long adventures can be too hard on my family. And they are more important to me than anything.”
Alex is an inspiration to anyone living with a chronic illness that believes that life isn’t defined by a diagnosis. He points out that people living with Parkinson’s deal with perpetual change and the continual need to look for alternatives to a “normal” life.
“But what is a normal life?” he adds. “My life has been extraordinary. I’m proving that life doesn’t need to be built around a diagnosis.”
Learn more about Alex’s extraordinary life at www.alexflynn.co.uk.
Photo by Martin Palden
Are you eating enough fruits and vegetables? Is your pantry stocked with whole grains, seeds, nuts, and legumes? According to John Duda, MD, that’s the basis of a healthy diet for just about everyone – including people living with Parkinson’s. As a movement disorder specialist, Dr. Duda talks to his Parkinson’s patients about ways to get more of the right foods in their diets. We talked with him to get his dietary advice.
Q. Tell us a little about your interest in Parkinson’s nutrition.
A. I’ve been a practicing movement disorder specialist for over 15 years, and I was getting tired of waiting for the big pharmaceutical breakthrough to slow the progression of PD. When exercise became recognized as a potential way to affect progression, I started talking to patients about it. I also started investigating whether nutrition could play a role in slowing disease progression as well. Most current theories regarding the cause of PD include chronic inflammation and oxidative injury. Therefore, it makes sense to me that a plant-based diet, loaded with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative compounds could slow disease progression.
Q. As a doctor, how do you incorporate nutrition into your practice?
A. I believe food is medicine, but as a medical community, we don’t use it appropriately. We often don’t give patients the benefit of the doubt, believing that people won’t change their diet so it’s not worth taking the time to talk to them about nutrition. Fortunately, I’m in a position that gives me adequate time to talk to my patients about lifestyle changes, as well as medications, that can help them. I find that people are very responsive, and it’s rewarding to see the improvements in well-being that can happen when patients take charge of their fitness and nutrition.
Q. You’re a proponent of plant-based, whole food diets for people with Parkinson’s. Can you tell us more about this diet and why you think it’s beneficial for PD?
A. It’s a diet that’s based on whole foods instead of processed foods – starting with whole fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. As the name suggests, it’s primarily based on plants, but if people want to throw in eggs or fish occasionally, that’s probably ok too. This type of diet is a whole package of nutrients, so there’s no need for supplements.
The evidence is pretty overwhelming that a plant-based, whole food diet is the foundation of healthy nutrition. I’m not religious about it – you should eat what you have to eat to be happy, because you don’t want to live a long life if you are miserable! But the rest of the time, you should eat what you have to eat to be healthy. Be conscious of the health benefits of a plant-based whole food diet. Though there’s some wiggle room around the edges, the evidence is pretty compelling that we don’t need dairy, meat, or poultry to be healthy.
In addition, I don’t think it can be overstated how empowering it can be for someone with PD, or any chronic disease, to take charge of their wellness and fight back against the disease in every way possible. It changes the perspective from one who is victimized or suffering from the disease to one who is fighting back and living with the disease.
Q. Any tips for helping people eat a whole food, plant-based diet?
A. If you’ve been eating a certain way for a long time, it might be really hard to make all the changes we’re talking about for a whole food, plant-based diet at once. I advise people to do their best to minimize processed foods, dairy and meat, and to make healthy replacements for some meals during the week. There are also numerous online and published guidelines for helping people get started. Two good examples are the Plant-based Primer from Forksoverknives.com or the Plant-Based Diet from Kaiser-Permanente.
At the VA, we did a small study looking at whether a whole food, plant-based diet could help with PD symptoms. To help our participants eat this type of diet, we taught them what foods to eat and why, and how to prepare them. We introduced foods that people may not be used to, like hummus and quinoa. Knowing how to make homemade hummus was a big hit!
We also found that camaraderie and social networking – a team effort – was important. Participants talked about what they tried and what they enjoyed. We also included spouses, which really helped people succeed on this diet.
While the study was too small to draw many conclusions, we did see changes in what the subjects were eating and improvement in constipation, which was the primary outcome.
Q. If you could give one piece of nutrition advice to someone with Parkinson’s, what would it be?
A. Educate yourself! There are great online resources like www.forksoverknives.com or www.nutritionfacts.org where you can learn a lot more about nutrition than the vast majority of physicians know. One small change, like adding 1-2 tablespoons of ground flax seed to your diet, can be very beneficial, especially for symptoms like constipation.
Q. Last question – what’s for dinner tonight?
A. I cook big batches of food so that I have leftovers. I have some leftover spicy pasta sauce with collard greens, chickpeas, garlic, mushrooms and onion that I’m going to put over a whole grain like barley or quinoa. YUM!!
John Duda, MD, is the director of the Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education and Clinical Center (PADRECC) of the Philadelphia VA Medical Center and associate professor of neurology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Balance problems are a common symptom of Parkinson’s disease. Few people know more about the topic than Fay Horak, PhD, PT, director of the Balance Disorders Laboratory and Professor of Neurology at OHSU. Dr. Horak and her team have conducted numerous studies on balance and walking, including the research behind BGF’s Power Forward Boot Camp. We sat down with Dr. Horak to get her expert advice for improving balance.
Q. Tells us a little about the Balance Disorders Laboratory at OHSU.
A. Our goal is to understand how the brain controls balance and walking, especially what goes wrong in neurological disorders like Parkinson’s.
Q. How did you get involved in this work?
A. As a physical therapist, the first neurological patient I worked with who had a near fall was a person with Parkinson’s disease who suddenly had freezing of gait. So I wanted to better understand the current neuroscience underlying balance and walking so we could have better treatments for fall prevention.
Q. The Boot Camp is based on research from the Balance Disorders Laboratory. Can you tell us about the major findings of that study?
A. What we found is that people with Parkinson’s can improve balance, and that there are many different kinds of balance that the brain controls. If you want to improve balance, you need to do exercises that work on all of those types of balance control.
For example, as part of one study, we had participants practice walking on a treadmill. Although walking was improved from this activity, balance was not. Participants still had a lot of sway when standing. But when another group practiced agility balance exercises, they had improvements in standing balance. Similarly with stepping responses to a trip or slip – if you want to improve balance responses when you trip, you need to practice stepping responses. You can’t practice standing on one foot and expect you’ll get better at recovering from a trip or slip. You need to practice the specific types of balance you want to improve.
Q. You’re currently conducting a study on balance and gait rehabilitation in people with Parkinson’s. What do you hope to learn from this study?
A. Our new study is looking at cognitive function. In addition to balance and gait, we are also going to determine if our exercise program improves cognitive function. We are also looking at changing brain circuitry by doing brain imaging before and after our exercise program.
Q. Why is studying cognitive function important for people with Parkinson’s?
A. Parkinson’s disease can cause problems with thinking and executive function, not just motor problems. Cognition is also important for mobility. If you think about crossing a street, for example, you need to make a lot of decisions to do it safely. You need to decide how to step off the curb, judge the speed of cars passing by, how to ignore the conversation you are having and when and how fast to walk. A lot of aspects of safe mobility are cognitive, and that’s important for preventing a fall.
Q. You’ve won an award for one of the most cited articles in the past 125 years! What were the major findings of that study?
A. For that study, we found that people normally use one of two main strategies for balance control: One is an ‘ankle strategy’ swaying around the ankle joints to maintain balance, and the other is a ‘hip strategy’ or bending at the hips to maintain balance. Based on that study, researchers examining balance now not only look at how much a person sways but also look at the strategy people are using for balance. For example, people with Parkinson’s often don’t use the hip strategy like they should so it is hard for them to balance on a narrow surface. In contrast, many older people without Parkinson’s disease who have poor balance use too much hip strategy.
Q. You’ve attended the University of Wisconsin, University of Minnesota, and the University of Washington. In the thick of the football season, do you root for Bucky Badger, Goldy Gopher, or the Huskies?
A. Born a Wisconsinite, I have to root for the Green Bay Packers!
For more information on improving balance, read “Four Tips for Improving Balance.”
Get involved with research! If you’re living with Parkinson’s, or have normal balance and want to act as a healthy control, sign up to participate in the studies at the Balance Disorders Laboratory and help improve our understanding of balance and gait. The Balance Disorders Laboratory is actively recruiting for new study participants, including an ongoing two-day study as well as a future 12-week exercise study. Learn more by visiting www.ohsu.edu/horak, calling 503-418-2601 or emailing balance@ohsu.edu.
Balance problems are a common symptom of Parkinson’s. If you’re looking for ways to get back in balance, read our expert advice from Fay Horak, PhD, PT, director of the Balance Disorders Laboratory and professor of neurology at OHSU.
1. Check in with a movement disorders specialist.
If you’re trying to improve your balance through exercise, medications make a big difference. “We found that if patients are taking levodopa, they learn to improve their balance better than when they’re not taking medication,” says Dr. Horak. “In our exercise study, when people came in without taking their medications, their balance improved a little bit. But when they did take their medications, they had much more improvement and they remembered the improved balance they learned much better the next day.”
Taking the right medications at the right time is important for engaging in an exercise program. Talk with your movement disorders specialist to make sure you’re optimizing your medications.
2. Ask to see a physical therapist.
A physical therapist can work with you to help identify ways to manage balance problems that could lead to a fall. Dr. Horak explains, “It could be something as simple as using a cane or changing some things at home to prevent a fall.” A physical therapist can also give you advice on the best community programs for your condition so that you can stay engaged in exercise.
3. Practice different kinds of balance.
The brain controls many different aspects of balance. In order to improve balance, you need to practice all of those different aspects.
“In one of our studies, we had people practice walking on a treadmill. Many aspects of their balance improved, but not standing balance. When another group practiced standing balance, we did see improvement,” says Dr. Horak. “Similarly, if you want to improve your balance when you trip, you need to practice tripping. You need to practice what you want to improve.”
4. Do your homework.
There are things you can do at home to improve your balance. “Every time you walk around the block, you’re improving your balance,” says Dr. Horak. “You can also practice many of your community exercise programs at home. Like if you’re learning Tai Chi, you can – and should – practice the movements at home, too.”
