One of the best things about being a human is our mobility. We’re able to wake up every day and the vast majority of people are able to go where they want to for the day. People can travel where they want, participate in sports and just enjoy life. It’s something that far too many people take for granted.
For people who suffer from movement disorders, life can be a trial. Gone is that sweet freedom that most people enjoy. Instead, an incredible amount of effort is put into the smallest of tasks. Having, or knowing someone with a movement disorder is incredibly difficult.
Types of Movement Disorders
The most widely known movement disorder is likely Parkinson's disease.
Parkinson's Disease
Unlike some diseases and disorders, Parkinson’s disease can have symptoms that vary heavily from person to person. In fact, many people who have early symptoms don’t even notice they are there.
Signs and Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease
Unlike some diseases and disorders, Parkinson’s disease can have symptoms that vary heavily from person to person. In fact, many people who have early symptoms don’t even notice they are there. Here are many of the signs that someone may have contacted or is dealing with Parkinson’s disease:
● Tremors - This is one of the most common and well known symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. People who have this symptom will develop a shaking in an extremity that can possibly extend throughout the entire body.
● Posture and Balance Problems - Many people who suffer from Parkinson’s will begin to hunch over and show poor posture. This tends to be due to balance being offset by the loss of voluntary movement.
● Muscle Rigidity - Rather than having the normal flexibility that muscles exhibit, those with Parkinson’s have their muscles tense up heavily. This limits motion and can result in a lot of pain.
● Loss of Unthinking Movement - Many muscle movements are done without actively thinking about it. People don’t think about each individual blink. People smile involuntarily when they are happy. Those with Parkinson's lose the ability to do this.
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis can be one of the most painful issues that anyone can ever deal with. As multiple sclerosis continues to devolve, people lose multiple aspects of their movement. Multiple sclerosis causes a host of painful and problematic issues, but the loss of movement can be severe. The first thing is the loss of muscle control. This makes basic movement much more difficult. Furthermore, people who suffer from MS will also often have balance issues. So even if they are able to move properly they are prone to falls.
Muscular Dystrophy
Another disease that manages to damage a person’s ability to move is muscular dystrophy. Like other disorders in this grouping, it attacks the muscles of a person’s body. Muscular dystrophy has many different versions. The central theme to all of these versions is that the muscles will weaken. This isn’t an immediate loss of strength and use. Instead, the muscles will slowly and progressively weaken. This loss of strength will slowly add up until weakness turns into an inability to move.
Cerebral Palsy
CP is another disorder that once again affects muscles and movement. However, unlike many of the other ones on this list where the muscles are physically damaged, cerebral palsy tends to occur thanks to problems with the brain. This is typically caused by brain damage as a young child.
Cerebral palsy can affect the way muscle tone builds and also the motor skills of the people affected by it. Since it can start at a very young age, some learn to live with it, however, it can be a severe implement to movement.