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In a post on Monday, September 26, 2011 Ankit Ajmera reported the following story in The Mumbai Mirror:
The day before we met Anand Sagar of Sagar Arts, he woke up at 6 am to fly to Baroda, attended a series of meetings and flew back to Mumbai in the evening. For most of us, a hectic day is part and parcel of Mumbai life. However for 70-year-old Anand, it’s an everyday battle and he won it well that one day. Anand, the co-director of the Ramayana TV series, suffers from Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disorder of the nervous system which affects bodily control resulting in movement difficulties, muscular stiffness and constant tremors. A person suffering from Parkinson’s feels like a rope has been tightly wound over his/her body and it tightens with every passing day.
Eventually, a seemingly effortless task such as lifting up a glass of water feels like moving a mountain.
Most Parkinson’s patients are rendered speechless and motionless with the gradual progression of the disease. But not Anand. He parties, has a drink or two, snorkels and works every day.
He has been able to reverse the symptoms, not the disease, and outwardly, looks like a healthy person. His two weapons are — His tireless devotion to exercise and a rare surgery that installed a battery-operated pacemaker inside his brain that facilitates muscle co-ordination.
The Deep Brain Stimulation technique, as it is called, reduces stiffness and rigidity in his limbs, but a lot depends on Anand flexing his muscles daily. If he doesn’t the symptoms get stronger the next day.
He decided to go in for the surgery this March and is still recovering. The long period of rest has affected his stamina. He walks for three kilometres a day and his target is to hit six. Exercise plays large part in his well-being and recent research shows that it protects the remaining dopamine-producing nerve cells, helping them work better and survive for longer.
There is a possibility that regular exercise could slow down the progression of Parkinson’s, improving the quality and life-span of a patient. Anand has to do flexing exercises for each little muscle.
Dr Anandh Balasubramaniam, the doctor who operated on Anand commends his dedication to exercise, “His well-being is activity dependent. If he stops walking, doing his daily flexing exercises, he will go back to the wheelchair.”
The ArmTutor™ has been in the forefront of slowing progression of Parkinson’s disease symptoms and has been developed to allow for functional rehabilitation of the upper extremity. The system consists of an ergonomic wearable arm brace and dedicated rehabilitation software. The ArmTutor™ system allows for a range of biomechanical evaluation including speed, passive and active range of motion and motion analysis of the upper extremity. Quantitative biomechanical data allow for objective evaluation and rehabilitation treatment follow up.
The ArmTutor™ rehabilitation concept is based on performing controlled exercise rehabilitation practice at a patient customized level with real time accurate feedback on the patient’s performance. The exercises are designed in the form of challenging games that are suitable for a wide variety of neurological and orthopedic injury and disease.The games challenge the patient to perform the exercise task to their best ability and to continue exercise practice. The ArmTutor™ allows for isolated and a combination of elbow and three directional shoulder treatment. The system provides detailed exercise performance instructions and precise feedback on the patients exercise performance. Controlled exercise of multijoints within the normal movement pattern prevents the development of undesired and compensatory joint movement and ensures better performance of functional tasks.
The ArmTutor and its sister devices (HandTutor, LegTutor and 3DTutor) are being used successfully in leading U.S. and foreign hospitals and clinics. Through the use of telerehabilitation the Tutors are available for home use.
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