Patient/caregiver was educated on lifestyle modifications for individuals with Parkinson’s Disease as follows:
- Use furniture of appropriate height, to help an easy lift up, while standing. This also helps maintain stability, while transitioning from standing to sitting position. Having armrests on the furniture also helps stability during sitting and standing up. The seat of the chair must be at least 2 inches higher than the back of the knee, to promote comfort and safety. Using some firm blankets on the chair seat can help elevate the seat to the desired level.
- Rigidity and difficulty initiating movement in Parkinson’s patients can lead to poor balance and compromised safety. Rearranging shelves in the bedroom, closets, kitchen, and refrigerator with items that are used regularly put in the upper shelves, to help an easy reach. Avoid using the lower shelves, as it needs them to bend to access them. Also, avoid placing items so high that they need to stretch heavily to reach out to them. Severe stretching and bending too low can further compromise balance in Parkinson’s patients, leading to falls. Using long handle reacher can help pick or reach out to items located too low or too high.
- Parkinson’s patients with incapacitating tremors involving the hands and fingers can have difficulty with performing fine movements of the hands employed during activities, such as, buttoning of shirt, tying the shoelace etc., Using shirts with zipper and slip-on shoes can help save effort in buttoning the shirt and tying the shoelace. Using a long-handled shoehorn to help an easy slip into the shoes.
