{"id":3046,"date":"2022-06-20T15:46:33","date_gmt":"2022-06-20T15:46:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gaitbetter.com\/?p=3046"},"modified":"2025-07-28T10:07:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T10:07:34","slug":"how-this-marathon-runner-with-parkinsons-disease-got-her-stride-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gaitbetter.com\/it\/how-this-marathon-runner-with-parkinsons-disease-got-her-stride-back\/","title":{"rendered":"How this marathon runner with Parkinson’s Disease got her stride back"},"content":{"rendered":"
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GaitBetter Parkinson’s Disease Patient Testimonial<\/span><\/i><\/p>

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\u201cI would recommend GaitBetter to others\u2026There are so many benefits you get from it and especially for people with Parkinson\u2019s Disease\u201d<\/i> – Karen Wise, First Parkinson\u2019s Disease patient to purchase GaitBetter technology for home use.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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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 \u2018gene that makes you get up and move\u2019. Karen\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>

However, the diagnosis didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Karen\u2019s story and her will to move<\/h2>

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\u2019s walking failed her, her speech worsened and her bad knee didn\u2019t help any of this leaving her in pain and at a loss.<\/p>

But that \u2018moving gene\u2019 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.<\/p>

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Integrating GaitBetter extended her walking time and confidence<\/strong>
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At first Karen couldn’t maneuver through any of the obstacles.<\/p>

\u201cI 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,\u201d describes Karen.<\/p>

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\u2019s a long time even for a fit and healthy person.<\/p>

Clinically, GaitBetter has been shown to improve fall risk, and reduce falls more than treadmill walking alone in 77 PD patients with freezing of gait (FOG+) who have more falls, postural instability and cognitive impairment.Karen is now 6 weeks into her GaitBetter training.<\/a><\/p>

Key areas that Karen saw improvements in:<\/b><\/p>