Cycling with Parkinson' disease

[PamNY]

Another story (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/health/01parkinsons.html?src=me&ref=homepage) about cycling with Parkinson's disease. For some reason, this bring tears to my eyes.

[Biciclista]

mine too. And I know why. This is the first good thing i have heard about parkinson's... ever.
If you watch that video of that horribly debilitated man who cannot take a single step... then he gets on his bike, and he looks exactly like my husband, the rando-biker. (he's the same age too)
If I had parkinson's I'd be on a bike A LOT. Thanks for posting this here.

[shootingstar]

Inspiring. :) And they tested 20 other Parkinson's afflicted patients where they biked too.

Seems like being on a tricycle (plus wearing a helmet )and going around and around on a path in park or training area would be a safer thing.

[tangentgirl]

So....(let me hear from the occupational therapists out there)...

Someone should invent some kind of bicycle/tricycle/pedal powered wheelchair for Parkinsons patients. Yeah?

[Tri Girl]

wow- that was truly amazing!! Watching him walk was painful, but watching him ride was incredible. WOW!

[maillotpois]

That was great, but I wish they'd put a helmet on him. :rolleyes:

[lo123]

So....(let me hear from the occupational therapists out there)...

Someone should invent some kind of bicycle/tricycle/pedal powered wheelchair for Parkinsons patients. Yeah?

The Amtryke might be an option... still have the pedaling movement, but more stable and quite adaptable.
http://www.ambucs.com/amtryke/

[KnottedYet]

I printed the article out and passed it around the office.

I only have one patient with Parkinson's right now, but I want to try some biking on one of our stationary bikes.

The really impressive thing to me is that another 20 patients had the same reaction to the bike. A different set of neural pathways, unaffected by the disease, eh?

[Cataboo]

I sent this to a friend whose father has parkinson's - a gov't agency bought him a tricycle bike a bit ago (they're in Belgium)...

He says his father can still ride a bicycle fine, but has trouble steering a bicycle - so this may not be a universal parkinson's phenomena. I'm not sure what stage parkinson's he is considered, last time I saw him he was still moving about, just slow to get started walking, etc.

His parents are looking into buying a tandem with a motor assist - his mother's convinced that the father is not peddling enough in the back to help them get up hills or against headwinds. (but since they're renting tandems, maybe the gearing just isn't ideal for her)

[snowroo]

LOL here, imagine the liability putting a patient with parkinsons on a bike without a helmet!

[shootingstar]

Thanks Pam, for alerting us about this article. It's one of those articles that's handy to tuck away for the future.

It's referenced in a posting (http://thirdwavecyclingblog.wordpress.com/2010/04/03/health-benefits-of-cycling-exploratory-research-for-other-illnesses/) by yours truly, which includes this medical research work as well as cycling is being used in another research project as part of exercise..related to cancer... (Don't think it will cure it, if successful, more to mitigate growth).