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Can you reverse Parkinson's disease?

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I  was at a family gathering, and I was approached by an elder who was about 60 years old and she told me looking at her trembling hand, do you think I have Parkinsons? Its not the first time I have been approached at a party, family function or even a funeral with symptoms and asking for an instant solution or that one exercise that can solve the problem. But this time it was far more shocking, as she thought her hand tremors was Parkinsons. Just to make it clear, Tremors are not equal to Parkinsons. Its best to get diagnosed with a neurologist and have a chart planned out instead of self diagnosis.  But after positive diagnosis, is it the end of the world? No, even if its a progressive movement disorder , we can slower the progress, plateau it and a lot of times reverse the symptoms. But does Parkinsons go away? A very common question asked to us, when we tell them we need minimum 3 months with them to get them functionally better. Parkinsons is like Diabetes or any other hormonal
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Can a patient with Parkinsons drive?

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  Have you ever witnessed some one wearing handcuffs walk towards you? Have you noticed their distress ? Have you taken a moment to think how we simply take the ability to move for granted? Thats what i see as a Neuro Physiotherapist when a patient with Parkinsons walks towards me . I see invisible handcuffs around their hands and their feet , which makes it impossible for them to move . The weight of which pull them into a stooped or slouched posture . Their anxiety and depression experienced is almost tangible. How challenging simply turning in bed can be. How all of these factors simply paralyse the patient and bring their morale down to point they feel absolutely helpless. Although being a physiotherapist i do see a silver lining since we do have a key to those handcuffs " MOVEMENT"  simple rhythmic large movements and i almost see the handcuffs click open. Neuro-pilates acting as a catalyst, helping them not only to move better but also carry out their basic daily tasks
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NeuroHeroes: Redefining ability

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We have been trained to believe that if one is affected with a neurological disorder, it’s the complete end of the world and they have to resort to living with the disability that it brings along, as if it’s one of the many irreversible changes of life. I have met numerous patients with such conditions, all having different perspectives on their conditions which has a direct effect on the outcome of therapy.  ‘ Am I going to be normal, again?’  ‘Will I be how I was before I got this disease?’ ‘ Will I ever be able to play my favourite sport?’ ‘Am I always going to be dependent for my day to day activities?’ These are the most common questions asked by patients when they first learn about their condition. The answer to all these questions is a very straightforward yes. They will be independent, but with a mindset shift in what is considered normal. A new normal is established and it comes with different abilities. A patient with an Incomplete Spinal cord injury used to walk six
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MIRAN- Moving with a goal

I have been a neurophysiotherapist since more than 13 years, and I have seen a lot of changes and improvement in the way we see patients with neurological conditions and their life. After my bachelors, I started working in a reputed hospital, I saw patients with stroke, Parkinsons and other neurological conditions being treated the same way as patients with knee pain, back pain and ankle injuries. The focus was achieving the range of motion, getting them pain free or getting the tone normalised. At that moment I questioned myself , is our body made only for being pain free and moving freely? I didn’t get any answer at that time until I completed my masters. The treatment protocol wasn’t wrong, but according to me it wasn’t fulfilling or achieving the goal fully.  I went for my masters in 2012, and had a great exposure to research, clinical applications and patient centred care. It changed my perspective to physiotherapy and its application. When I came back in 2013, there was no Neuror
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Why I chose Neuro physiotherapy?

  Why I chose Neuro physiotherapy? I was 12years old when my grandmother suffered right sided paralysis sitting in the hospital with support and the soup started dripping from her left side while I was feeding her and the doctor walked in saying ‘ She is discharged, now everything is on the physiotherapist to make her walk’. That was the very first time I heard the word “physiotherapist” and had no idea what it meant. It was 2001 and it took us 5 days of searching, asking, going through the yellow pages to find a physiotherapist.  We started physiotherapy for her, at home first and it was tough to imagine he came without any equipments and just treated her with his hands. My grandmother was a very independent lady so it was very difficult for her to ask help for basic tasks like sitting to standing or even going to the washroom. The rehabilitation went on for 6 months and finally at the end of 6 months she was able to walk a whole circle of Shivaji park which is 1.2 km in 45 mins w
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