Health & Wellness
Horizon Newsletter – April
Health & Wellness Highlights:
Walk With Ease will continue through the summer. Warmer weather will allow us to bring this program outside, how exciting!
Chair Volleyball will be the 10th and 24th of April. Note this change for April.
Matter of Balance will be starting its third class on April 5th. Class size is limited. Sign up today! Remember, it is an 8 week dedication.
Breakfast Bash will be coming to a close at the end of April! The Breakfast Bash will return in December.
Healthy Cooking on April 27th. We will be making sugar free, low carb strawberry blondies!
Don’t forget to check out our Bowling Group at Blue River Bowl every Friday at 12pm. A discounted rate offered to seniors at that time.
Parkinson’s Awareness Month
April is National Parkinson’s Awareness Month. We observe National Parkinson’s Day on April 11th. Why, you might ask? This is because, James Parkinson’s birthday. James, a British physician, whom first described this disease as “Shaking Palsy” in 1817. Dr. Parkinson’s observation and research started to pave the path to this unknown disease. Later changed to “Parkinson’s Disease” by Jean-Martin Charcot.
We do know more and more as time passes due to great advancement in science and technology. There is no known cause for Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Genetics point to 10-15% of patients. 85-90% of cases are classified as sporadic. Continuing a good quality of life is still possible with PD. Medication is the most common form of treatment. Surgical therapy and lifestyle modifications, such as exercise and rest can help with PD symptoms.
No two “Parkies” have the same symptoms. This is due to the diversity of PD. Tremors (mainly while resting), bradykinesia (slowness of movement), limb rigidity (gait and balance issues) are some symptoms a Parkie will experience on a daily basis. Non-movement symptoms include and are not limited to: cognitive changes, mood disorder, fatigue, hallucinations and delusions, orthostatic hypotension, and sleeping disorders. Increased physical activity for 2 ½ hours per week will slow the decline in quality of life and change the course of PD.
PD can be broke down into 5 stages:
Stage I– Mild Symptoms, daily life undisrupted
Stage II– Experiencing tremors and stiffness begins to worsen, affecting both sides, poor posture, poor gait
Stage III– Movements begins to slow, loss of balance, hinderance ability with daily task
Stage IV– severity of symptoms causing significant daily issues, not living independent, not able to complete task
Stage V– ambulation and independent standing are impossible, confined to wheelchair or bed, requires skilled level of care.
Shelby Senior Services runs Rock Steady Boxing of Shelby County. Rock Steady Boxing is a nonprofit organization giving people with Parkinson’s disease hope by improving their quality of life through a non-contact boxing-based fitness curriculum. Call the Horizon Center today for more information on RSB and FIGHT BACK AGAINST PARKINSONS!