At this time, everyone is talking about sport as an important resource for neurological diseases. Movement groups are forming everywhere and the information about this important pillar for the treatment of Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis or polyneuropathy is constantly growing, as are the results of research.
After more and more "Parkies" joined our project PingPongParkinson-VR and we already have our own ranking list, the step to the first tournament was only logical.
In the future, the "International PingPongParkinson-VR-ChampionShip" will take place on the first Sunday of each quarter.
We start unscheduled on Sunday February 5th at 18pm. Anyone with Parkinson's disease and who has the technical requirements for the TT simulation "ELEVEN TT" (VR glasses Quest1 or 2) can take part.
The tournament will be broadcast live on twitch and youtube. Interested parties should please apply as soon as possible, since only 20 starting places can be allocated in the first tournament.
What we know about pain
Pain is multidimensional. This means that different factors play a role in the development of pain.
Why are we in pain?
They are a warning signal from our body. Or much more an action signal from our body. He tells us that our threat level has been exceeded and asks us to change something.
This can be a change of position, for example, if we have stayed in one position for a long time. This can be pulling your hand away from a hot object.
This is because the individual threat level has been exceeded. When the brain receives too much threatening information, it triggers a pain response. For this purpose, information from different areas is evaluated, from our environment, from inside the body, from our body parts and is connected with our experiences, adventures, emotions, fears and expectations. The brain interprets all this data individually and decides whether there is a threat or not. It is only when this happens that a pain response is sent from the brain.
“I think of my Parkinson's disease as a kind of brain injury – specifically to small parts of the midbrain. I imagine the total volume of the damaged area is about the size of a golf ball. That means I can use the rest of my brain to come up with workarounds.
But with the increasing application possibilities of VR software (virtual reality), combined with a falling price of the necessary devices, we are currently experiencing a paradigm shift. From the very beginning of computer games, sports simulations have emerged today that have reached an unprecedented level of realism in the virtual world.
First and foremost is the table tennis simulation Eleven TT, which is unparalleled in terms of its realism and is gaining more and more recognition as a “real” sport on both a national and international association level.
largely unnoticed by the public, the people who develop Parkinson's are getting younger and younger. It is now no longer uncommon for the neurodegenerative disease to appear even before the age of 30.
This naturally poses a particular challenge for the medical profession, given the variety of symptoms in younger people, Parkinson's is least likely to be suspected.
pain and well-being
“How are you?” We get asked this question all the time and most of the time we answer with a short “Fine. And you?". Very rarely do we think about how we are doing. And what does it actually mean when we say I'm fine. What is behind our well-being?
When we understand what well-being means and how many facets it involves, we can actively take care of our well-being. And that holistically and with everything that goes with it. And maybe we'll manage to answer more differentiated and honestly at the next opportunity.
We have an idea:
Did you know….
....that our body and its perception determines 80% of how we feel mentally;
….that a large nerve called the vagus nerve constantly reports whether the body is safe or in danger;
…. that when too much insecurity can make your body have trouble "shutting down," resulting in your immune system not working properly, your thinking chops, and you cruising through the world on autopilot?
Imagine if there were simple tools to give the body a feeling of security again. Together! Your child helps you, you help your child.
We invite you to join us on an inquisitive and playful journey that is funny for some, pushes the limits of others, but done seriously to glowing alertness and sparkling joy.
Here is the link to register* and please share it with all families and networks who work for families and/or chronic diseases and with dear friends and adults who are young at heart.
It starts on the 1st :-)
We are really looking forward to it - we were very creative and tested everything ourselves with our children.
Kind regards, the Longcovid-Holistic team,
Mareike Schwed - Tobias Gerost - Viola Tonn
When we talk about exercise as an effective non-drug therapy for Parkinson's, we unconsciously mean the typical sports activities from rehabilitation and physiotherapy.
But what matters is not just that you move, but rather how you move.
Science has long since proven that movements that are carried out contrary to expectations have a measurably higher effect.
For example, simply walking backward affects the dopaminergic system far more and more effectively than walking forward.
Private lecturer Doctor Heiko Gaßner from the University Hospital Erlangen, together with the Erlangen regional group of the German Parkinson's Association, has developed a movement training concept for Parkinson's patients.
So that the patients can repeat their exercises after the rehab regardless of time and place, he and his team and Wolf-Jürgen Aßmus from the Erlangen regional group have packed the training including instructions into eight videos of about 30 minutes.
This resulted in a unique video project that is second to none. We would like to thank Doctor Gassner very much for allowing us to present the videos as part of our mobility offensive in the Parkinson Journal.
As an introduction to the project and as a kind of "making of", I conducted an interview with Wolf-Jürgen Aßmus. Wolf Jürgen Aßmus, also suffering from Parkinson's disease, is a member of the dPV regional group in Erlangen and is responsible for the image, sound and editing of the videos.
I can only recommend everyone to use the exercises for their own "home training", because the following applies in particular:
Exercise is one of the few promising non-drug therapies for Parkinson's.