New Protocol for Parkinson's disease Clients
February 26, 2008
Many doctors attending to people who suffer¬ from Parkinson Disease look to fitness professionals to help their patients cope with the symptoms of the disease. Tamara Di Tella has been working with patients with Parkinson Disease at the Tamara Di Tella Rehab Room located in the neural motor disorders Program (PMA) of the national public hospital in Buenos Aires.
"Since the year 2004 I’ve been working with Parkinson Patients on the Pilates machines and this has been a most educating experience for my instructor; a curriculum enhancing practice for my students who come to get the Pilates certification at the Tamara Di Tella School of Training, and for the patients themselves, who find at the Rehab Room a place where they can perform their workouts and feel good”, says Tamara Di Tella.
Based on all these years of experience, Tamara Di Tella believes that Parkinson patients can greatly benefit from the Tamara Di Tella Pilates Method. "With regular Pilates exercise individuals can maintain a good level of mobility and an overall feeling of well being”, she argues. Tamara Di Tella works not only with partner exercises; but also uses a strong and concentrated music –Tango- to help patients initiate movement.
Tamara Di Tella has found that patients with Parkinson Disease respond well to a strong, focused and concentrated beat such as Tango. It helps them initiate movement when they get the “freezing effect”. They also appreciate partner work since it helps them copy the instructors moves more easily”, says Di Tella. " I have found partner exercises to be helpful," she says, “because when they are placed in front of an instructor and all they have to do is copy their instructors movements, they can accomplish the task better than when they are on their own”, says Di Tella.
Partner movements coordinated to Tango music seems to be an excellent protocol for Parkinson patients. Yet, explains Tamara Di Tella, we still need to carry out more research to determine the appropriateness of the Tamara Di Tella Method.
