I am newly diagnosed and have been recommended PD warrior. I have (had) a good general level of fitness as I have done a lot of long distance walking and cycling although I am now struggling particularly with walking as I have focal dystonia of the foot. I have looked up PD warrior online and found through the offiocial site that I can subscribe to one of 3 levels of online courses (payable in dollars). I would much rather have at least an initial assessment with a real person rather than do everything online. There is nothing local to me (Shrewsbury) although I have found a clininc in South Wales that says they do PD warrrior but they have not replied to my inquiry. Can anyone tell me anything more about PD warrior. Has anyone done the online course? Does anyone know of any live classes and most important - is it fun?
Hi Janet,
You’re sure to soon hear from our community and their experiences and knowledge of PD Warrior, but we found some helpful articles on our website here (we recommend using this page as a jumping-off point for the multiple fitness articles) that we thought you may want to peruse. We’d also encourage you to call our free and confidential helpline at 0808 800 0303, as they can recommend local resources, including exercise clubs for PWP. They are super supportive and are eager to help.
Best of luck in your research!
Jason
Mod Team
Hi Janet
I don’t know where you live but I live in Essex and my
PD nurse referred me to the neuro physio.
If you contact the physiotherapy department (via your PD nurse or neurologist ) some of them run a 10 week course which is very similar to PD Warrior and you don’t have to pay.
Good luck Poppy x
Many thanks Poppy. I live in Shropshire which is a neurological desert. However I shall keep looking
you can watch the exercises on youtube for free . I would try to find a class that does BIG movement … its similar but not as intense but the actions in BIG lead onto pd warrior. Its worthwhile getting face to face to correct posture etc you dont realise if your lopsided etc till its corrected!
Exercise slows down progression si anything is worth doing
Jan
just been having a look at BIG on youtube - not heard of that - thank you
Pd warrior was suggested to me by neurophysio. She advised me to look on you tube.
I found useful resources at https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/information-and-support/your-magazine/experts/staying-active-home-when-you-have-parkinsons
I;ve been doing Reach Your Peak which is mentioned here for about a year and it’s excellent - run by 2 physiotherapists. (not sure if free trial still available?)
"Reach Your Peak is a tailored online programme for people with mild symptoms of Parkinson’s to do at home.
You have to pay for the programme but you can currently get two short programmes free of charge, with no obligation to remain with the company after this period.
For 5 years post diagnosis, up to March 2020, I exercised a lot but did not do any PD specific exercises or classes. After lockdown I found I deteriorated physically surprisingly quickly despite trying to keep to my exercise schedule at home. A much anticipated, NHS neurophysio (virtual) appointment proved very disappointing: too little too late, not tailored to my needs. Left to my own devices I tried many free, online classes and resources, mainly, but not all, for PwP. For brevity I won’t list them here but some helped, some led onto other things, some I did not like or were too expensive. The programme I have found most beneficial is Parkinson’s Wellness Recovery (PWR! Moves). According to the website, after developing LSVT BIG for her postdoctoral fellowship, Dr Becky Farley went on and founded Parkinson Wellness Recovery (PWR!) in Tucson which is run as a ‘not for profit’.
https://www.pwr4life.org/moves/
Link to the 5 PWR! Moves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6Wtd13lwrc&list=PLsRmTAYV0uGz30qFSvngZe-ZlDE4-UMxJ
In the 7 months I have been doing PWR! Moves I am only just being to realise how good the programme is. The therapist in these YouTube videos is Claire McLean. Instead of renewing my local gym membership, I now have a subscription to her online Wellness and Exercise Program, Rogue in Motion, in California. https://www.roguept.com/rogue-goes-online
It covers not only exercise but education, nutrition and cooking, brain exercises, fine motor skills and functional videos such as how to get in and out of a car. Again there is free content available. I thought at one point as I am doing stuff online, why not California? Perhaps a little late but I have realised I do need PD specific exercises. Awesome!! -as they say in the US.
I am very grateful to everyone who has responded and given me some ideas as to how to access PD specific exercises (yes, I am coming to the conclusion that I need more than walking and cycling)