Freezing of Gait
Freezing of gait is a common symptom often seen in the moderate to later stages of Parkinson’s disease. If you have ever felt like you have had glue on your feet and difficulty taking that first, or your steps get really shuffly and stop when you’re walking, this is likely freezing of gait. The reason freezing of gait is so problematic, is it is a major contributor to falls, loss of confidence and decreased quality of life. Up to 80% of people experience freezing in later stages of PD, and around 20-25% in early stages.
Freezing of gait is a complex symptom to treat and requires a comprehensive knowledge of the literature, experience in effective treatment strategies and a tailored approach. Freezing of gait can be impacted by many things, including your medication timing, level of anxiety, cognitive interference, environment and underlying fitness. Typically it is your Physiotherapist who will explore all of this and more in your initial consult to create a treatment program that will be most effective for you.
Some of the more successful approaches to treat freezing of gait incorporate neuroplastic training principles that help to re-wire your brain, intensive practice to embed the new skills into your daily movements and the use of treadmills or robot assisted gait trainers to force better speed, endurance and often gait pattern. By using these more modern approaches, we have started to see some really exciting results alongside some of the more traditional strategies such as cueing and prescription of walking aids to maintain safe and independent mobility.
For more information about freezing of gait and what you can do to improve this often frustrating symptom, please book a consult with one of our trained physiotherapists.
For more information, please register to watch a presentation delivered by Melissa McConaghy, founder of PD Warrior at the recent INSIGHT 2021 conference.
