We got this email recently: 
I want to praise Carol Dickman’s Seated Yoga video and Belleruth’s Parkinson’s Disease imagery.  My husband who has been disabled and depressed with his illness for several years responds well to these.  He works with both each day.  He is less depressed, sleeps better and we both think he has gotten somewhat better at getting himself to move when he is “stalled”, which is what we call it when there is a gap between when he wants to use his muscles and when they respond.

Guided Motor Imagery Helps with Athletic Performance, Neurological Conditions

Investigators at the University of Haifa in Israel reviewed the literature to determine the positive effects of guided motor imagery practice on motor performance. There is abundant evidence that motor performance is improved in athletes, people who are healthy, and people with neurological conditions, such as stroke, spinal cord injury and Parkinson’s disease. This article discusses how to integrate motor imagery into a physical therapy practice and goes into particulars of visual and kinesthetic motor imagery, factors that modify motor imagery practice, the design of motor imagery protocols, and potential applications of motor imagery.

Citation: Dickstein R, Deutsch JE. Motor imagery in physical therapist practice. Physical Therapy. 2007 Jul; 87 (7): pages 942-53. Epub 2007 May 1 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Researchers from the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the Bronx V.A. Medical Center, in a double-blind, randomized, pilot study, examined the effects of acupuncture on PD-associated symptoms. No significant changes were found.

Researchers from the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the Bronx V.A. Medical Center performed a double-blind, randomized, pilot study to determine the effects of acupuncture upon a variety of PD-associated symptoms, as compared to a control condition.

Fourteen patients with Stage II or III PD received acupuncture or a control non-acupuncture protocol. Before and after treatment, patients were evaluated using the Motor subscale of the Unified Parkinson''s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), the Parkinson''s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39), and the Geriatric Depression Scale.

There were no statistically significant changes for the outcomes measured. In the patients who received acupuncture, nonsignificant trends toward improvement were noted in the Activities of Daily Living score of the PDQ-39 and the PDQ-39 Summary.

Citation: Cristian A, Katz M, Cutrone E, Walker RH. Evaluation of acupuncture in the treatment of Parkinson''s disease: a double-blind pilot study. Movement Disorders. 2005 Sep; 20 (9): pages 1185-8.

Researchers at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City find that tui na massage, acupuncture, and qigong improved subjective quality of life & reduced depression, but UPDRS motor scores actually worsened..

Researchers at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City evaluated the effects of sequential tui na massage, acupuncture, and instrument-delivered qigong for patients with Parkinson disease (PD) over a 6-month period. Twenty-five patients received weekly treatments, which included tui na massage prior to acupuncture followed by instrument-delivered qigong. Each patient was assessed at baseline and at 6 months.

Before and after treatment patients were evaluated with the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Hoehn and Yahr Staging (H&Y), Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living (S & E), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Parkinson''s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) quality of life assessment, and patient global assessments.

A study out of Politecnica University in Ancona, Italy shows that aerobic training has a significant impact on the ability of moderately disabled PD patients to cope with exercise, but Qigong does not.

Investigators from Politecnica University of Marche in Ancona, Italy studied the effects of aerobic training vs. Qigong in subjects with Parkinson''s disease (PD).

In this randomized controlled trial with a crossover design, 26 PD patients in Stage II to III (Hoehn and Yahr scale), under stable medication, were randomly allocated to either an Aerobic Training group (receiving 20 aerobic training sessions followed by 20 Qigong group sessions after a 2 month interval between the interventions), or the same treatments in reverse order – Qigong first, followed by a 2-month interval, then Aerobic Training.

Outcomes were measured by the Unified Parkinson''s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Brown''s Disability Scale (B''DS), six-Minute Walking Test (6MWT), Borg scale for breathlessness, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Parkinson''s Disease Questionnaire-39 items (PDQ-39). A spirometry test and maximum cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) were also performed to determine the pulmonary function, the metabolic and cardio-respiratory requests at rest and under exercise. All measures were taken immediately before and at the completion of each treatment phase.

Researchers from the Parkinson''s Disease and Movement Disorders Centre at the University of Pavia in Italy explored the efficacy of active music therapy (MT) on improving motor and emotional functions in patients with PD. Music is believed to act as a specific stimulus through unique sensory pathways, different from movement and practice alone.

This prospective, randomized, controlled, single-blinded study lasted 3 months and consisted of weekly sessions of music therapy (MT) and physical therapy (PT, consisting of. Thirty-two patients with PD, all stable responders to levodopa, in Hoehn and Yahr stage 2 or 3, were randomly assigned to two groups, MT or PT, of 16 patients each.

The severity of PD symptoms was assessed with the Unified Parkinson''s Disease Rating Scale; emotional functions with the Happiness Measure; and quality of life using the Parkinson''s Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire. MT sessions consisted of choral singing, voice exercise, rhythmic and free body movements, and active music involving collective invention. The PT group used passive stretching exercises, specific motor tasks, and strategies to improve balance and gait.

Researchers from Meir General Hospital in Kfar Saba, Israel, investigated the efficacy of motor imagery practice for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease symptoms.

Of 23 patients with idiopathic PD, an experimental group of 12 was treated with both imagery and physical practice, and a control group received physical exercises alone.

Exercises for both groups were applied during 1-hour sessions held twice a week for 12 weeks. Comparable motor tasks provided to both groups included callisthenic exercises, functional tasks, and relaxation exercises.