John,

Thank you for taking the time to welcome me and share your experiences. Exercise does not change my symptoms so much but it surely strengthens what muscles I have. It is my understanding that exercise is essential for slowing PD down. I have never been one to exercise much, so this is a constant struggle for me, even though I know it helps. My feet have some issues that tend to discourage as well. As a result of surgery a long time ago on an extremely painful arthritic toe, I have a hammer toe on that foot. On my "good" foot, I had the tendons cut on four of my toes so that they lay flat and allow me to walk without too much pain.

Early on I started using the Nordic walking sticks. I really like them. Now I use just one of them on my "good" side for walking without my walker. Parkinson's has stolen the "swing" needed for balanced walking so I kind of gave up using the pole on that side. Every once in a while I get it out to practice. As with all other exercise, I need to do it more often. We have a stationary bike that I use sometimes.

I will check out the sand dune stepper and the exercise site you mentioned. Variety helps!! As always, I am in awe of folks like you that suffer from more than I have ever known, yet still stay positive and press on.

Thanks again for your help.