How this marathon runner, a Parkinson’s Disease patient, got her stride back
GaitBetter Parkinson’s Disease Patient Testimonial
“I would recommend GaitBetter to others…There are so many benefits you get from it and especially for people with Parkinson’s Disease” – Karen Wise, First Parkinson’s Disease patient to purchase GaitBetter technology for home use.
Meet Karen Wise. Before her Parkinson’s Disease (PD), Karen ran marathons, rode her bike and skiied, or as she would put it she had that ‘gene that makes you get up and move’. Karen’s active lifestyle stopped in its tracks when she was diagnosed with PD where even standing and washing the dishes became a strain and an effort for her.
However, the diagnosis didn’t stop Karen and her husband from seeking to find the best solution to help Karen. They did everything in their power to find the perfect solution and that meant a lot of trial and error, and even traveling across the USA and the world to find it.
Karen’s story and her will to move
Karen was diagnosed with PD about 3 years ago. As a Parkinson’s Disease patient, her physical condition quickly deteriorated, leaving her unable to stand for long periods of time, yet alone perform any of the physical activities she once loved so much. Karen’s walking failed her, her speech worsened and her bad knee didn’t help any of this leaving her in pain and at a loss.
But that ‘moving gene’ kicked in and Karen was ready to try anything. She tried getting back on the treadmill, she tried several different therapies including some alternative therapies, however many of these failed her. It wasn’t until Karen went to a Physical Therapy clinic in Ohio where she learned about GaitBetter, a semi-immersive Virtual Reality (VR) technology for treadmills.
Integrating GaitBetter extended her walking time and confidence
At first Karen couldn’t maneuver through any of the obstacles.
“I couldn’t get over any of the puddles or hurdles and I thought oh my gosh I could never do this, I’m too uncoordinated,” describes Karen.
Before Karen added the GaitBetter component to her treadmill, she was using it for 15-20 minutes with great effort. Now with GaitBetter she has been able to add another 35 minutes of GaitBetter training to her treadmill time totalling 50 minutes! Now that’s a long time even for a fit and healthy person.
Key areas that Karen saw improvements in:
- She has eliminated much of her PD limb.
- She falls a lot less and she has put away her cane! With GaitBetter 60% of fall reduction can be achieved.
- Her Balance has improved.
- She is better able to focus.
- She can increase her heart rate which she wasn’t able to do with any other equipment thanks to GaitBetter and a special harness she purchased separately to reduce her body weight.
- Even her speech has improved as she yells out good morning to everyone in our virtual call.
She attributes all this to GaitBetter and her medication.
“Every day I’m getting better, everyday I increase a little bit and now I’m at 4.4 miles an hour, that’s an 80% range of success so I think that’s pretty good,” Karen tells us.
Karen’s husband adds:
“The thing that has really benefited her is walking. She had a really bad limb on her left side, her left foot basically dragged. Now when you watch her walk it’s pretty much even and physically it is because you have to lift your foot up entirely so that’s primarily where the big thing is. Your brain has to talk to your foot and in Parkinson Disease you don’t have that communication. So when she walks it’s definitely a big thing and like I say the benefit for her is having the screen setup right against the ceiling so she had to look up. In Parkinson’s you are always leaning over and when she walked outside her back hurt because she was leaning over.”
Why choose GaitBetter for your Parkinson’s Disease patient
A study involving 20 PD patients in first-time treadmill training with a virtual reality component showed GaitBetter increased gait speed while walking, improved dual task performance and helped negotiate over-ground obstacles. The addition of a VR component may significantly improve physical performance, gait during complex challenging conditions, and even certain aspects of cognitive function in PD.
In another study with 64 patients, GaitBetters technology helped widen our understanding of brain plasticity in PD. The study showed that using the technology modified the effects of the training on the magnitude and lateralization of prefrontal activation and on falls.
We hope Karen’s story can be an inspiration for other PD patients out there. Motivation is hard for PD patients and we recognise that by providing a fun and engaging platform that has proven benefits in helping Parkinson’s disease patients.
To learn more about GaitBetter:
- Download our full clinical review of GaitBetter to support care for Parkinson’s disease patients. Click here.
- Also, read our blog on Gait Training in Parkinson’s Disease: How to reduce falls with Virtual Reality