Case Study

Background: Joseph is a 72 year old male with Stage 3 Parkinsons Disease, diagnosed in 2015. He has been married to his wife, Susan, for 50 years and they live in a 1 bedroom condo together. They have 2 children and 8 grandchildren that all live out of state and visit every few months. Susan has been supportive in his care but has been diagnosed with osteoporosis and experiences her own muscle and joint pain. She says that it can be difficult to help her husband get out of bed but she pushes through because its important for her to be able to support him. Neither of them express the desire to hire a home health aide at this time. When asked why, Susan said We have been married for a while now and I have been taking care of him for as long as I can remember. It doesnt sit right with me to have a stranger in our house handling my own husbands care instead of me.

Level of Independence: Joseph has sustained three falls in the past four months, all occurring while he was at home unsupervised. Two of the falls were during attempts to put dishes away on higher shelves, and one fall was in the shower. He was lucky enough to not hit his head during any of the falls, although they did leave him with significant muscle soreness in his back and legs. Joseph is slowly needing more help with dressing and hygiene. He has recently started walking with a quad cane.

-Give a brief overview of the patients injury or condition

-Impact of Injury/Condition

-What motor functions are impaired or affected in this injury or condition?

Focus Areas

-What are the general focus areas of the exercise program (i.e. balance, gait, strengthening, flexibility or other)

-Discuss the relevant principles of exercise programming for the specific condition (i.e. volume, specificity, motor control, variation)