Easy-But-Worthwhile Exercises to Do at Home When You Can’t Go to the Gym

Even if you can’t get to the gym, pool or other location to build up your body, you can exercise at home. But how? Researchers in Iran recently tested a set of easy exercise drills (see below) on a group of Parkies that greatly improved their quality of life and ability to balance, compared to a control group who didn’t do these exercises and experienced instead a decline in health.
Here are the details, most of which I’ll copy-and-paste from the original article (“The Effect of 12 Weeks of Cawthorne-Cooksey Exercises on Balance and Quality of Life in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease,” Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran (MJIRI), https://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/).

Background

The Participants: Twenty-four individuals who were 53 to 69 years old volunteered to participate in this study and were assigned to the experimental (N = 12) and control (N = 12) groups. All the selected samples completed a written informed consent form. In addition to the usual treatment, the experimental group performed CCEs [Cawthorne-Cooksey Exercises] for 12 weeks, while the control group only received the usual treatment during this period. The patients had idiopathic PD, and their disease severity was at stage 3 on the Yahr & Houn (H&Y) scale (bilateral disease and some difficulty in standing but able to perform daily activities). All participants in the study were under the supervision of a neurologist and took the same medications, such as selegiline tablets, amantadine capsules, etc., with appropriate doses during the exercise period.

The Exercises: Here are the Cawthorne-Cooksey Exercises:

A. Eye and Head Movements, in a seated position – Start slowly and then increase the speed:

1. Look up and down.
2. Look left and right.
3. Bring fingers closer and move them away while looking at them.
4. Rotate the head left and right (start slowly and then faster) with your eyes open.
5. Move the head up and down (start slowly and then faster) with your eyes open.
6. Perform movements 4 and 5 with eyes closed as well.

B. Head and Trunk Movements, in a seated position:

1. Place an object on the ground, pick it up, raise it above the head, and place it back on the ground (keep looking at the object throughout the exercise).
2. Perform rotational movements from the shoulder joint.
3. Bend forward and pick up an object placed in front and between the knees.

C. Standing Exercises:

1. Repeat Exercises A and B while standing.
2. Sit down and stand up repeatedly.
3. Rotate to the right while standing up.
4. Rotate to the left while standing up.
5. Throw a small ball from hand to hand (upwards, at eye level).
6. Throw a small ball lower than the knees from one hand to the other and repeat.

The Results

How did the participants do? Both groups were evaluated on two scales.

– The Parkinson’s Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire (PDQL 37) was used to assess the QOL (Quality of Life) in PD patients…. This questionnaire consists of four subscales: Parkinsonian symptoms, systemic symptoms, social function, and emotional function. Each question in this questionnaire has five options, which are scored from one (1) to five (5) based on the type of response options: always (1), most of the time (2), sometimes (3), to some extent (4), and never (5), representing the most natural state to the most abnormal state. The questionnaires were completed by a physiotherapist before the first session and after the last exercise session.

– The other evaluation method was a set of balance exercises called the Berg Balance Scale, consisting of 14 items:

1. Sitting unsupported
2. Maintaining a standing position with your feet apart
3. Maintaining a standing position with your feet together
4. Maintaining a standing position with your eyes closed
5. Standing with one foot in front of the other
6. Standing on one leg
7. Sitting down from a standing position
8. Standing up from the sitting position
9. Transferring from lying down to a sitting position
10. Turning 90 degrees
11. Turning 360 degrees
12. Picking up an object from the floor
13. Reaching forward with arms and transferring weight forward
14. Weight shifting on alternate legs

Yes, but how did the participants DO?

Tests showed that there was a significant difference between the post-test of the two groups in all subscales of QOL (Parkinsonian symptoms, systemic symptoms, social functioning, and emotional functioning) and balance. The experimental group consistently scored higher in all aspects. There was a significant difference between the posttest of the two groups in balance, meaning that the experimental group had a better balance.

What does this mean for me and my fellow Parking Suns readers?

First, I usually think I have to go to a gym and do heavy workouts lifting weights or plodding along on a treadmill if I want to halt the Parkinsonian scourge. Yet here it seems you can get by with these minimalist exercises while keeping the Parkinson’s hounds at bay.

Second, it doesn’t negate the fact that we’re all under pressure to perform better tomorrow than yesterday, so for me this means doing both: gym workouts and the Cawthorne-Cooksey Exercises.

Third, you supply what it means to you by leaving a note in the comment section below.

Tally ho!