Can anyone advise me on what they do to help freezing. My husband has had Parkinson’s for the past 10 years and has just started to freeze mid step. Also, I bought a riser chair a few months ago as he was having trouble getting up from the settee, it helped for a while but he now he goes to stand up but freezes and cant get out of the chair. Im having to pull him up from the chair. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you
My mother used to count 1,2,3…Go and sometimes that worked.to ‘unfreeze’ her…
Other times she would look ahead to where she wanted to go and would begin the counting before she started moving and talk herself through it (sometimes aloud, sometimes just to herself)
I have heard of some people who look to the lines on the floor/or pattern in the carpet and think about walking over them…
I am sure others will join this thread with other ideas…they are just the first ones that came to me on reading about your husband.
Chocqueen11 what was taught to me by therapy was first make sure i have my cane close while sitting. The cane is for support. Hold the cane arm straight in front bend at the waste. When you bend forward your head will end past your knees a bit. Once you have done this your body weight will be moving forward as well. Push up on the cane and think about your legs stand up. Focus hard all in one motion. Bend forward arm on cane push up legs Practice it.
Now that your up cane supports balance. Think again left kick and right kick. Well I know sounds hard but once the freezing has started our brain must be retrained and told what to do. Also freezing for me is at off time. Might need to get medicine adjusted . Hope this helps. Tell your husband to fight and not give up. The truth is for us with PD. No one can help us unless we work at it. Tom
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Hi Chocqueen11
I have the same problem as your Husband and find the advice given by Omahatom is spot on and well described.
I use the term “nose above toes” it is important to get the weight forward and if he is in an armchair he will need to shuffle to the edge first
It all may sound obvious but you would be surprised how many people try getting out of an armchair from the same laidback position they have been in for an hour or more.
Mal.
Hi have you seen this ?
My husband who has pd saw it
Hi there. There are lots of verbal and visual cues, some of which have already been mentioned. Different things work better for different people. As an OT I can highly recommend PD specific programmes such as LSVT Big and PD Warrior to help with these issues. Google them to find out more and to see if there is anywhere local to you. Also get in touch with your local neuro therapy department. They may run similar programmes. Good luck!
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This may sound silly and it. may not work for you but give it a try - note keep safe, I use this indoors. Quite simply find something lightweight and kick it along the floor. Don’t advise a ball as they can roll too far but scrunched up paper works pens and pencils, I have an old pin cushion that works well, empty, plastic travel bottles, etc., etc. Don’t kick too hard ideally aim for a big stride. It is another form of visual cue. I use this often.
I would also agree wit h the comment above - get forward on the seat first. lifting your torso over your knees is the hardest part of sit to stand and made much harder if your torso is a thigh length from your knees because of the depth of the chair.
Re the riser chair I appreciate you have already bought a chair and they are more expensive but if you find yourself wanting to replace your chair sometime (or to anyone thinking of buying a rise recline) I would encourage anyone with PD to compare a standard chair to a tilt in space type - the chair moves through an axis and you don’t get the hard tipping point that co mes with a standard one. Going to a specialist supplier where you can compare one against the other is the best way to feel the difference.
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Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions, really appreciate you taking the time to reply.
We will give some if the suggestions a go.
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