Alzheimer's and Nordic Walking
We have all heard about Alzheimer's disease and how it affects those who suffer from it and their families. The terrible consequences of this neurodegenerative disease mean in practice a very serious evolutionary process that begins with the loss of memory, affects behavior and social relationships and evolves towards a process of dementia, at the same time there is a loss of basic functions. of daily living (ADL's), physical deterioration and psychomotor regression. As the affected person loses abilities and lucidity, the closest family members have to take care of all their basic needs.
At the moment there is no definitive treatment for the disease, but anything that can help stop the degenerative process is very welcome. In this sense, the Nordic Walking can also play a very interesting role.
A while ago a study was published showing that NW had very positive effects on those affected by Parkinson's disease. Currently, we are in a position to affirm that, in the case of Alzheimer's Disease, NW can also mean another grain of sand to alleviate its devastating effects.
El Agosto del 2011, el Dr. Massimo Venturelli y su equipo del Departamento de Neurología de la Universidad de Verona, Italia , publicaban un estudio: -Six-month walking program changes cognitive and ADL performance in patients with Alzheimer- donde se revela que es posible estabilizar por un tiempo las disfunciones físicas y cognitivas en pacientes afectados por la Enfermedad con un programa de caminatas específico. Por lo tanto, es evidente que si en este programa añadimos los bastones nórdicos y aplicamos la técnica de la MN, nada complicada, se añade a la actividad las extremidades superiores, y ...esto lo cambia todo!
In August 2011, Dr. Massimo Venturelli and his team from the Department of Neurology at the University of Verona, Italy, published a study: -Six-month walking program changes cognitive and ADL performance in patients with Alzheimer's- which reveals that it is It is possible to stabilize physical and cognitive dysfunctions for a time in patients affected by the disease with a specific walking program. Therefore, it is evident that if in this program we add the Nordic poles and apply the NW technique, which is nothing complicated, the upper extremities are added to the activity, and...this changes everything!
In NW, the arms are incorporated to walk, and this fact means that walking with canes is, in a way, equivalent to crawling, which means that the psychomotor work carried out by those who practice NW is much more important: it activates more motor programs and automatisms, and in this way the functioning of more brain areas is activated, not just walking. In addition, we must keep in mind that thanks to the canes we will always be very balanced and we will avoid the risk of falls, very common in those affected by Alzheimer's.
Fuente: https://www.emprendemosjuntos.es