This is something I have not had to face so far thankfully – falling and the fear of falling. But I know it is something many living with Parkinson’s do have to face and manage. I attended a very helpful training course run by the NHS in Lymington Hospital Foundation over 12 weeks, and I thought it might be useful to share some of the findings.
For many, it can start with freezing, a turn that goes wrong, steps suddenly becoming too small and quick, or that feeling that your body is moving but the feet are not. Sometimes rigidity makes Parkinson’s sufferers stiffen, and sometimes it happens when people are distracted or when medication feels as though it is wearing off. In those moments, the training says that it is best not to fight what is happening, and to try to think in Parkinson’s terms: stop, steady yourself if you can, and protect yourself as best as possible.
- If you freeze, the guidance say try not to force the next step. Pushing harder when your feet feel glued to the floor can throw people further off balance. What helps more is to pause, reset, and try to make the next movement deliberate.
- If a turn is going wrong, avoid twisting suddenly. Turning is one of the moments people are said to feel most vulnerable with Parkinson’s. If you can, try to widen the turn or step to the side rather than twisting sharply.
- Remind yourself to think “big” when steps start to shrink. When Parkinson’s makes steps small and hurried, you can feel much less stable. Mentally cueing yourself to take one bigger, slower step can sometimes stop things from getting worse.
- If you know rigidity is taking over, try not to stiffen even more. Our instinct can be to tense the whole body, but that usually makes the fall heavier and less controlled.
- Think about protecting your head and landing as safely as you can. If there is time, try to tuck your chin, avoid grabbing at anything unstable, and come down on your side or bottom rather than crashing awkwardly.
- Once down, the training said it is important to pause and work out why it happened. With Parkinson’s, that might mean asking ourselves whether we froze, rushed, turned too quickly, or was due medication. That helps us recover more safely and learn from it afterwards.
Another key takeway from the NHS training was that reducing falls comes down to noticing patterns, making adjustments, and not ignoring the times when your body feels less reliable. The more honest we are about what trips us up — freezing, rushing, turning badly, or trying to do too much at once — the easier it is to respond earlier. If you are living with Parkinson’s too, I hope some of this feels familiar and useful. And if falls are happening more often, it is worth speaking to your Parkinson’s nurse, physiotherapist, or doctor about what might help in your situation.