Parkinson’s Education & Empowerment Day offers insights for navigating treatment options
Parkinson’s Education & Empowerment Day offers insights for navigating treatment options
By Sean Gorman
About 150 patients, family members and caregivers gathered at this year’s Parkinson’s Education & Empowerment Day for insights on how they can take control of their journey with the disease.
Sponsored by the VCU Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center (PMDC) and the Power Over Parkinson’s nonprofit group, the April 12 event featured speakers from the PMDC and beyond offering expertise on the steps patients can take towards better health and how to track down reliable sources of information in the field of Parkinson’s care.
“It was such a treat to be able to energize people around empowering themselves and being active, taking their diagnosis into their own hands and equipping them with information so they can hopefully live a fantastic life and live well with Parkinson’s,” says Margaret Preston, the president of Power Over Parkinson’s.
Daniel Corcos, Ph.D., a professor of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences at Northwestern Medicine’s Feinberg School of Medicine, gave a keynote presentation at the VCU’s Larrick Student Center. Corcos guided attendees through the key benefits that exercise provides in boosting wellness for those living with the movement disorder. Additionally, Corcos offered a “prescription” of sorts for attendees to consider.
That insight included a regimen of weight training twice a week, endurance training three times a week, flexibility training several times a week and neuromotor and balance training once or twice weekly for people able to perform those activities. As a result of the event, Preston says Power Over Parkinson's has received additional inquiries from some attendees interested in taking part in the group’s High Energy Amplified Training (HEAT) exercise program that was modeled on Corcos’ research.
Leslie Cloud, M.D., director of the Parkinson’s Disease Program at the VCU PMDC, offered tips on how attendees can find reliable information about the disorder.
“We live in the information age – with an ocean of information at our fingertips, but not everything you read on the internet is true,” Cloud says. “I wanted to help patients critically evaluate the sources of the information they consume about Parkinson’s so that they won't get dragged down the wrong rabbit holes.”
Cloud’s advice: be skeptical and don’t believe everything you read about the disease.
“Always consider the source, their motivations/goals in producing the content, their credentials, the references, etc.” Cloud adds.
Antonio Abbate, M.D., Ph.D., a cardiologist and professor at UVA Health, worked to “demystify clinical trials” for people interested in taking part in that research, but who are also put off by the medical jargon used in those studies as well as common hurdles involved in taking part in them.
Ginger Norris, a PMDC genetic counselor and clinical research coordinator, says that in addition to the insights from all the speakers, the Education & Empowerment Day offered attendees the opportunity to make connections and build community with others facing some of the same issues in dealing with the disease.
“I think that one of the best supports for people is knowing others who are going through the journey and sharing tips amongst themselves,” says Norris, who worked on the event’s planning committee. “It makes you feel less isolated. It normalizes your condition a little bit. I think the sense of community really empowers people.”