Parkinson's: Motor Symptoms Alleviated With Everyday Activity

Scientists are still learning about Parkinson's Disease (PD), a neurodegenerative health issue that affects movement. While there is no cure, there are still treatments that can slow the progression of the illness.

New findings reveal that regular everyday activity may be the best way to stay healthy when living with Parkinson's disease. A team of researchers at the New University of Michigan found that taking strolls around the neighborhood or simply folding laundry helped patients feel more stable on their feet.

In this recent study, researchers investigated whether participation in exercises, like swimming or aerobics, could help alleviate motor symptoms that made some patients want to stay sedentary.

During a 4-week-period, they studied the relationship between the duration of both non-exercise and exercise physical activity, as well as motor symptom severity for 48 Parkinson's disease patients. They also performed PET brain imaging to examine dopamine levels and used a questionnaire to learn how physically active the patients were, including through exercise and non-exercise activity. Findings revealed that non-exercise activity helped to lower less severe motor symptoms. 

"This may have a big impact for Parkinson's patients," said co-author Jonathan Snider, M.D., clinical lecturer of neurology at the University of Michigan, in a news release. "Not only worsening Parkinsonism but also increasingly sedentary behavior may explain more severe motor symptoms in advanced Parkinson's disease."

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