Is lefty doing their job?

This thing that afflicts us, this Parkinson’s in all its forms is as individual as we are all individuals. We all experience some similarities, but the variation between people with the same condition can be vast.

One thing that is quite intriguing is the way that Parkinson’s usually starts out on only one side of the body and for me that is the left side. I remember when I first found out that my mother had this diagnosis, on being told that it was predominantly on her left side was a good thing. I was a good thing, because my mum was a bit of an artist. She painted predominantly, but had tried a few other things like sculpture. Mum was right-handed, so we were very pleased that she could continue to paint as her right side for a long time was not affected at all. I nearly said ‘infected’ at all, which if Parkinson’s is called a disease almost means that it is infected. The difference of course with Parkinson’s is that it does not appear in any way to be contagious, which is why I prefer not to use that label.

So, my left side is my lazy Parkie side that would happily allow the right side to do all the work. I have been going to the local pool three times a week for months now. I started off just aqua jogging, but most recently I have tried some gentle breaststroke. I decided on breaststroke initially because it is the easiest to do and because I am not necessarily the best swimmer in the world it was the easiest choice. A week or so ago, I was doing a wee bit of swimming in the above-mentioned style and tried to actively focus on what was happening with my body while I swam. I noticed then that my left leg rather than kicking out like a frog in unison with the right side, there was a bit of a lag and maybe a bit less movement on the left side.

Since make this discovery, I actively focus on my left leg when swimming, so that I remind myself to try to work in unison with my right leg. It does help to focus me and to feel like I am doing something beneficial.

Whatever exercise any of us indulge in, it is important that it is regular and something that we enjoy. It is important also to monitor its effectiveness as we engage in the activity.

My challenge when it comes to exercising is that I can’t really do the exercise programme that our local Parkinson’s society runs, because many of the activities within that class are ones that would be risky for my back. So, I will do exercises that are focussed on the things I need to work on for Parkinson’s, but in a way that protects my back.

I have a podcast on this topic, with a bit more information if you would like to listen.