Freezing, and no this isn't about the weather.

Parkinson's is a strange disease, with some frankly bizarre symptoms, especially later in its progression. And on the surface at least, when the Neurologist described to me on diagnosis some of the difficulties I had to look forward to, the one that seemed the strangest was "Freezing of Gait (FoG)". With this symptom, the individual will suddenly and quite literally find it impossible to either initiate a step or walk through a door or a narrow passage.

I could sort of get my head around the problems with initiating a step, but walking through the door seemed very odd. How on earth could a condition like Parkinson's operate in that way? What was it about walking through a door that triggered the problem?

I am embarrassed to say that initially, such was my curiosity about these particular symptoms, I was almost looking forward to them happening just so I could experience and understand them better.

What a prat I was!

So what is 'FoG'?

It has been described as one of the most disabling, yet poorly understood symptoms of PD. Those that suffer from it describe it as feeling like your feet are glued to the ground. The time the episodes last can range from a few seconds to minutes. It happens suddenly, typically when walking, but other movements such as speech or writing can also be affected.

This 'freeing' can also make it difficult to initiate movement, such as standing up from a chair and trying to move forward. This is known as 'Start hesitation'.

One of the most serious problems with freezing is that it increases the chance of falling and dangerous falls are an ever-present risk to PD sufferers. It is estimated that up to 97% of Parkinson's Patients experience falls, with falls being one of two of the most common causes of death for PD patients.

The other being pneumonia.

So what are the treatments?

Well, firstly our old friend exercise plays an essential role in keeping a sufferer healthy and able to take part in daily living activities, exercises explicitly that challenge and strengthen a person's balance, address’s axial rigidity and also helps improve the patient's flexibility.

If you have Parkinson's, there really doesn't seem to be any downside to a properly designed fitness and exercise regimen, It benefits many areas of a PD sufferer's life.

There are also other steps you can take. Fall-proof your home. Have eyesight and hearing tested, Check into the side effects of the medicines you take. Get plenty of sleep and finally avoid alcohol!

Perhaps that last one’s a step too far. You've got to have something to live for!!

But remember the nos 1 intervention that may prevent falls is physical activity. So go join a gym.

Boy am I getting preachy. Must avoid it.

Another 'interesting’ symptom, a euphemism for ‘strange’ is exhibiting physical activity when asleep. So for example, kicking out in your bed. Now I will confess to having this fortunately occasional problem, perhaps twice a year. So what typically happens is that while sleeping, if I start dreaming of playing football, I will kick out.

Nearly broke my toes doing that.

Then on other occasions, I have come close to breaking some fingers by punching the bedside table.

And the wall.

But the worst time, was when I attempted to drag the wife out of the bed by her hair. Don't ask why I was simply having a strange dream. It was shall we say embarrassing and she was a little bit indignant about being treated that way.

So why is this happening? Well, normally the body is paralysed during REM sleep, which is when dreams occur. With certain conditions, of which Parkinson's is one, the "off" switch has ceased to work, allowing a person to act out their dreams. In short, with RBD (Rapid eye movement, sleep behaviour disorder), the brain pathways that suppress muscle activity have been disrupted.

Bit disconcerting really. Makes you worry about what might happen if you go to sleep seething with anger? It could get messy!

As my Great Granny use to say, "Don't let the sun set on your wrath"