Parkinson’s patients invited to dance and encouraged to climb the mountains

Climb a mountain – why not Kilimanjaro as Dutch-speaking patients will do next October – or, more simply, dance at Libramont. Whatever, but move, do some physical exercise! Preferably in a group. This is the message addressed by neurologists to patients with Parkinson’s disease, for which it is the International Day, tomorrow, Tuesday, April 11.

« We are convinced that exercise therapy will have a preponderant value in treatment, if practiced from the beginning.knowing that atat present, diagnoses are most often made at the time of the appearance of the first motor symptoms, explained Dr Olivier Bouquiaux, neurologist, at the CHU Liège, during a conference organized Monday, in Brussels, by the biopharmaceutical company Abbvie. On the therapeutic level, several scientific publications effectively demonstrate the benefits of physical activity, whether enduring or powerful. In Parkinson’s disease, exercise therapy is positioned as an effective and complementary modality to other treatments currently available to improve the physical capacities but also the quality of life and probably the cognitive functions and the mood of the patient. Whether it’s muscle strengthening, aerobic exercises, balance or stretching, the multiplicity of approaches is recommended. It is important that the intensity is meaningful. Finally, group and supervised practice seems preferable. In fact, there is often a feeling of shame in Parkinson’s patients and therefore a tendency to isolation. These people are usually sedentary and getting them moving is a real challenge.. »

A therapeutic but also preventive effect

Initiation must be repeated or uninterrupted, early or even preventive. Several epidemiological studies have in fact demonstrated that exercise therapy also seems to have a preventive effect. « These publications effectively demonstrate that the more intense physical activity one has, the earlier it is and the lower the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease one day.“, says the specialist.

In addition to individual limitations such as the feeling of shame and physical inactivity, there are « environmental » limitations, the neurologist points out. « In the collective mind, there is still the false belief that intense physical activity is harmful for neurodegenerative diseases, which, with some exceptions, is not the case. There is also always a lack of knowledge on the part of patients, but sometimes also of physicians, as to the real therapeutic effectiveness of medicine through well-conducted exercise. Finally, in our country, there is above all a lack of infrastructure and there is no financial means to encourage patients to practice suitable and quality physical activity. It’s a big problem. At present, these physical activities are most often done in physical medicine and rehabilitation services.« .

Dance, a therapeutic activity par excellence

Based on this observation, a local initiative was developed, aimed at informing, educating and motivating patients as well as doctors. « We have developed an effort reconditioning program, dedicated to patients who had never done any physical activity, continues Dr. Bouquiaux. Called Fit your mind, this association offers adapted physical activities with quality supervision. They are mainly focused on Nordic walking, fitness and swimming. Unfortunately, we did not meet with the expected success. This is why we have started a reflection. We wondered how to do resistance work, endurance work, balance exercise, of significant intensity, in an uninterrupted, collective, supervised way. An activity that also gives pride, that shows another image of the disease, that involves the partner that we often tend to forget in this chronic disease. A physical activity that encourages adherence to the project, which stimulates the process of resilience and which makes the patient « active ». We are therefore particularly interested in emerging therapies that use digital technology »

After all this reflection, it was finally the dance that caught the attention. « It really made us aware of the importance of indexingsays the neurologist. This is a rehabilitation technique for the Parkinson’s patient which will, through sensory stimuli, allow him to re-move and re-trigger a movement of which he has lost the initiation capacities by his loss of endogenous dopamine progressively. as the disease progresses. Dance is indeed a physical activity full of cognitive cues, whether sensory, visual (we work a lot in mirror with the partner), auditory. Nerve pathways are therefore developed through this activity.. Combined with music, dance stimulates mental and physical activity and connects body and mind. It makes movements remarkably smoother and improves spatial awareness, balance and muscle strength. Better, the participants regain confidence, redo projects, rediscover the joy of living« .

This is how group dance lessons were born, given by professionals, and a great show called Kinesiphilia, meaning « love of movement », which took place on March 8, 2015. It took a year to develop 9 choreographies in which 60 parkinsonians participated. Little by little, the project developed throughout the country. Today it brings together some 250 dancers.

Kinesiphilia has also undergone medical evaluations. It shows that after one year of practice, a weekly modern dance session globally improves motor skills, cognitive skills and the feeling of happiness in patients with Parkinson’s disease. What more?

Testimony

The non-profit association Gym Sana offers adapted activities

« For the past year, I have been taking a course in adapted gymnastics for patients with Parkinson’s. Our teacher offers us a whole program of exercises aimed above all at maintaining our mobility and our agility. We also do relaxation. The atmosphere of the course is warm and our teacher communicates to us his optimism and his joie de vivre, which does us a lot of good. We are encouraged to train at home, which I do regularly. The result is very positive. In this course, we heals the body but also the mind.

Like around a hundred other patients, Suzana takes a group lesson every week with the non-profit organization Gym Sana, which offers gymnastics here and Nordic walking there. Alongside physiotherapy sessions, these adapted physical activities in groups certainly improve the quality of life of people and the benefits exist both physically and psychologically as well as socially. Because, by creating a bond, this group gym is a good way to fight against withdrawal, a common attitude after diagnosis. At this weekly meeting, people support and help each other during the session. The participants discuss their difficulties but also their progress after the course, or even organize other meetings outside of it.

More info: Asbl Gym Sana – www.gymsana.be

Parkinson in numbers

In Belgium, it is estimated that nearly 50000the number of patients with Parkinson’s disease.

A number that could double by 2030.

In the world they would be something 10 millions.

It was in 1817, just 200 years ago, that Dr. James Parkinson discovered the syndrome he would call « The Shaking Palsy », or paralysis agitans.

« The main contribution of the London doctor James Parkinson (1755 – 1824) was to affirm, from the observation of 6 patients, that the conjunction of certain movement disorders could be witness to a disease distinct from the others described hitherto.explained Professor Gaetan Garraux, from CHU Liège. This princeps description appears in the monograph entitled « An Essay on the Shaking Palsy », published in 1817. Since then, research has been punctuated with multiple discoveries, sometimes spectacular, in many fields. Despite everything, James Parkinson’s approach, based on careful observation of patients, remains one of the cornerstones of clinical diagnosis and of all ongoing research in humans.« .

Next October, a team of seven Belgian patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease will set off to climb Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain on the African continent at 5895 metres. AZ Sint-Rembert from Torhout and the youth group of the Vlaamse Parkinson Liga support this expedition. « Our main objective is to overcome the limits imposed by the disease and to help basic research on the disease“, explained Dr. Jan Maes, neurologist, during a conference organized Thursday in Brussels by the biopharmaceutical company Abbvie.

The Belgian Brain Council

Inspired by the European Brain Council, set up at European level in 2003, the Belgian Brain Council (2005) is the first national organization that brings together all the parties concerned. This national, unique and multidisciplinary platform is made up of numerous researchers from all Belgian universities, associated with scientific societies of neurologists and psychiatrists, other medical and paramedical stakeholders in the field, numerous national patient associations and pharmaceutical companies. , all concerned with the brain and its diseases on the neurological or psychiatric level. The association of the expertise of all aims to inform and educate the general public, to stimulate progress in research and its funding, with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of life of patients and their families. .

« Maintaining the best quality of life with a perfectly functioning brain guarantees the continuity and progress of our society.explains Dr. Gianni Franco, neurologist, vice-president of the BBC. Understanding and optimizing the organ that allows us to perceive, think and act is one of the great challenges of the 21st century. With its ambitious Belgian Brain Plan (see appendix), the BBC wants to bring together all actors from the political, public and private sectors, and motivate them to fight against brain diseases.« .