The number of people affected by the disease of Parkinson's is on the rise, and there are 300,000 people with the disease in Italy, with age of onset often also young after age 30.
Thanks to the medical advances, today increasingly early diagnosis is possible, and numerous effective drug treatments, with levodopa and dopamine agonists, which provide good motor control for many years.
In addition to the drug therapies, there are also surgical and infusion therapies that, in specific cases, can help substantially improve patients' quality of life, even after 15-20 of illness.
Among the Parkinson's disorders, there are difficulty walking, maintaining balance, and the phenomenon of Freezing of walking (sudden motor blockage).
Nonpharmacological treatments for Parkinson's disease
In addition to medication treatments, motor activity also plays an essential role in maintaining the quality of life Of people with Parkinson's disease.
In particular, thermal water activity provides an ideal environment for preserving good movement control and correcting walking and posture disorders.
Now, even a medical device innovative helps to treat these disorders. GONDOLA® Is a portable device that can be used at home.
The device is the focus of the new program Breaking Parkinson's, proposed by the medical center for rehabilitation and physical medicine inserted by the’Ermitage Bel Air Medical Hotel by Abano Terme, as part of neurological rehabilitation initiatives, aimed particularly at the Parkinson's patients.
It only takes a few minutes, twice a week, and this tool makes therapy possible, through noninvasive stimulation with no side effects called AMPS (Automated Mechanical Peripheral Stimulation).
“The rehabilitation program," explains Marco Maggia, owner of the Ermitage, "was designed under the scientific supervision of Professor Angelo Antonini, a neurologist and researcher who is among the top Parkinson's disease experts in Italy. A rehabilitation vacation project dedicated to improving the quality of life for the Parkinson's patient began in 2017. The project aims to treat symptoms with a multidisciplinary and residential approach. Following the experiences made at the hotel's in-house rehabilitation and physical medicine center during early 2017, a comprehensive protocol was designed, delivered through weekly modules that include: neurological and physiatric evaluation; individual and assisted motor rehabilitation both in thermal water and in the gym; personalized management of the nutritional program; use of the GONDOLA system®; neurocognitive stimulation.
Gondola the plantar stimulation
People with Parkinson's often cannot find equipped facilities and competent staff to establish a path to recovery.
In recent years, some specialized spas have developed a specific program for the recovery of patients with Parkinson's disease, with rehabilitation sessions in thermal water under the supervision of specialized physical therapists.
Recently, a new partner has been added to this strategy, the foot stimulation system of Gondola which allows, with customized sessions, to correct the plantar load in these patients with important benefits in walking.
The stimulation system is designed for Parkinson's home therapy, to improve the motor symptoms of the condition, such as slowness of movement, short stride and balance problems, but also the Freezing of the march.
Specifically, the device is applied to the feet twice a week to receive 2-minute neurostimulation; the benefits, for positive responders, last three to five days after treatment
Italiano
Français
Deutsch
English