Dr. Eboni Green
April 26, 2022
Watching and caring for a loved one living with Parkinson’s is challenging and sometimes painful to witness first-hand. As a caregiver, you may feel like there is nothing you can do, but that’s untrue. There are many ways to help a loved one living with Parkinson’s.
As you know, you can expect to see your loved one’s symptoms increase in severity. The best thing you can do for someone who will continue to experience this is to be there and listen to them. Being a shoulder, they can rely on, and an ear that will hear them is one of the best ways to help a loved one living with Parkinson’s. With so much uncertainty on the horizon, having someone there makes the future easier to face.
Parkinson’s is a progressive disease that continuously degenerates a person’s nervous system, causing a whole host of symptoms. While no cure exists for the disease, there are ways to alleviate symptoms. Therapy treatments like Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Parkinson’s have had promising results in reducing the typical symptoms of rigidity, tremors, and freezing. If you were unfamiliar, TMS is a non-invasive FDA-approved therapy treatment that works by stimulating neurons in the brain to either increase or decrease blood flow, depending on the client’s treatment plan.
Your primary responsibility as a family caregiver is the well-being of your loved one, and based on their illness, that will look different for everyone. When caring for someone with Parkinson’s, it will be helpful to keep them active as it will help improve their coordination, memory, vigor, stability, and overall well-being. If your loved one isn’t already active, try and start small with a short walk around the block or doing something fun they will enjoy. You may even try engaging them in something like yoga, a low-impact activity that still improves strength and stability.
