I wasn’t sure where to post this as it is a bit of a random question but on the basis it seems to work for me, I thought wellbeing was a good a category as any.
Like many of us I live with my feet freezing. I have however become increasingly aware, and it is most easily noticeable to me when doing my exercises, that if walking and needing to turn it is an easier and smoother turn if I turn anticlockwise. To go clockwise tends to stop me in my tracks. I am left sided dominant and as a leftie it is more natural to me to do what the right side dominant majority often consider wrong or awkward etc. To flick through the pages of a magazine or book for example my preference is to go from back to front and to tie a bow ‘properly I take the ribbon anticlockwise round the loop. It therefore follows (it would seem) that my natural instinct to turn anticlockwise gives me better results than turning clockwise. I just wondered if anyone else had noticed this whether left or right side dominant (when clockwise should work better.)
If you haven’t noticed it maybe give it a go and see if you find the same. For me, whenever possible I now turn anticlockwise which lessens the impact of my feet freezing.
I’ve only done a superficial search but haven’t as yet come across anything looking at this in research terms.
Tot
Interesting about turning anticlockwise! I haven’t noticed a preference myself (rightie). Maybe it’s related to your personal dominance or biomechanics. Give it a try and see if others experience the same!
I am just intrigued more than anything else. We often do timed walks/runs in my flat. I have quite a long hall and go to the door come back to the living room and go round a chair to complete a lap. When I go round the chair and turn at the door anticlockwise I don’t have a problem, doing that clockwise my feet invariably stick, not for long it’s true, but there is a definite stop and my balance is less secure. The only logical reason I can think of is because of my left sided dominance. It has occurred to me I should work on improving my clockwise turns but really I am just interested if anybody has noticed anything similar - or even give it a go to find out if they turn one way better than the other
You could be right in what you say, so thanks for your reply.
Tot
Hi Tot,
Just to be awakard I am leftside dominant but right handed and I can only turn safely to the left (anti clockwise). If I turn right I either stick or fall over.
To throw another parkinson’s strange thing into the thread on bad days or when I am extremely tired & I dont know why but I always ended banging my right shoulder/ arm into the door frame as I try to walk through them.
Just to add even more confusion until I was 11 I was left handed, but went to a Catholic boarding school run by Jesuit priests and Carmaliite nuns. If I used my left hand for anything the stinging of a ruler or strop with them saying something like if you use the devils hand you will the sting of the ruler / strop. Soon learnt to be righthanded as a result.
Very interesting jps1926. If I am reading you correctly you would be naturally left handed if your school hadn’t forced you into being right handed, so in essence you do as I do and turn ‘better’ going anti clockwise (or to the left), on going the other way (to the right) I haven’t fallen over (yet) but my feet do stick. I too have been known to walk into the door frame even though I am well aware it is there, I’ve not noticed if I bang my left or right side and I’ve not done it for a while. Of course I may have always had a natural tendency to turn towards the left, it may not be related to Parkinson’s at all except when you do have Parkinson’s, if there is something in this, it may prevent at least some of the falls you might otherwise sustain. I was lucky and was always allowed to use my left hand although I was continually told I looked awkward etc and if possible I would sit with another leftie otherwise I was forever being accused of jogging someone’s elbow - it never seemed to occur to anyone including me, that my arm was equally jostled by my right handed deskmate lol
Tot
Hello Tot
Hope you are doing ok. It is definitely ‘a thing’. My mum used to have exactly what you describe. Difficulty turning towards the side that was most affected .
Here is some research where they explored this further:-
Hello HavanaS
It’s good to hear from you and I hope things are going well for you and your family. I am well thank you and continue to be managing my Parkinson’s, for the most part, better than I ever expected to be able to this long after my diagnosis - fingers crossed that will continue to be the case for some time to come.
Thank you for your reply about your Mum and the link to the article which I will read later. It is an intriguing question but if turning the ‘best’ way for any individual, whether it be clockwise or anti clockwise, has the potential to minimise the risk of falls, it must surely be worth knowing about.
Tot