Recently I wrote a blog about my experiences of Parkinson’s Disease as a physiotherapist and the difference that physiotherapy can make in my experience to anyone living with Parkinson’s Disease. As part of being an evidence based physiotherapist it is important that these experiences are backed up with evidence and clinical research. As such I thought we could briefly look at the recent NICE Guidelines that have been published on Parkinson’s Disease and the recommendation for physiotherapy and Parkinson’s Disease.

As mentioned the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) release guidance last year about how Parkinson’s Disease should be managed (the full guidance can be found here https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng71 ). As discussed previously Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive neurological condition that affects motor strength, power, balance and coordination and is much more common in the elderly. As our population ages more and more of the population is likely to develop Parkinson’s Disease and as such it is vital that patients have access to good physiotherapy. Without going through each of the parts of this rather comprehensive guidance on Parkinson’s Disease it is probably best just to highlight a few recommendations that relate to physiotherapy:

“Consider referring people who are in the early stages of Parkinson’s to a physiotherapist with experience of Parkinson’s for assessment, education and advice, including information about physical activity.”

This seems like it should be blindingly obvious and be done as a usual part of good practice already. After all if you have just been diagnosed with a progressive neurological condition you would assume that you would be referred through to discuss how best to manage the condition with someone and also to think about how you can minimise the physical effects and which exercises might be best etc.. However it almost certainly is not the case that this happens as a part of usual care but at least the guidelines highlight that this should be happening. In my opinion this is one of the most important parts of the recommendation after all “knowledge is power” and having an idea of what you should try to do and how you can manage things in the future is vital.

“Offer Parkinson’s disease-specific physiotherapy for people who are experiencing balance or motor function problems.”

Again, I can hear many people reading this blog saying: “Well surely this is what happens anyway?”. Well the answer is no it doesn’t!! Mostly patients will not be offered anything specific to their needs unless they are experiencing a crisis or are recovering from one of the most usual side effects of Parkinson’s Disease: a fall. In my opinion patients really benefit from access to a physiotherapist who understands Parkinson’s and can help them with exercises to work on their balance, strength and coordination.

So, I hope that if you have read our previous blog on Parkinson’s Disease (click here) that you can see that my opinions on the importance of access to physiotherapy for patients with Parkinson’s are also backed up by the latest research and guidance.

If anyone reading this blog has Parkinson’s or would like to know more about the condition and how physiotherapy can help please get in touch. We are a home visit physiotherapy service based in Lichfield and serving Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, Cannock, Rugeley and Walsall.