VCU School of Nursing researcher examines if a vibrating shoe can help people with Parkinson’s walk
Nearly 60 percent of people with Parkinson’s disease experience the sudden inability to walk, a phenomenon referred to as “freezing of gait.” It manifests in a complete stop or prolonged shuffle despite the individual’s best intentions to move forward and can be triggered midstride by a cluttered room, narrow spaces like a doorway or when making a turn. No medications or surgeries currently are available to treat it.
A team of five Virginia Commonwealth University researchers — led by Ingrid Pretzer-Aboff, Ph.D., senior nurse researcher in the School of Nursing, and Leslie Cloud, M.D., neurologist in the Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center — are testing a vibrating device worn inside the shoe that could put an end to the freeze. Read more.
