strength and mobility

Anonymous	Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 7:46 am Post subject: strength and mobility I notice from my exercise, that I do possess strength, for example, I have the strength to hit, box and kick during my exercise. However, I do have difficulty in moving well. Mobility seems to be the problem here. I don't seem to be able to move fast with strength simultaneously. Although I can execute some moves sufficiently strongly, but I lack the speed in execution. Can any one enlighten me on why although I possess strength, I experience difficulty in mobility. I have checked with other patients suffering from Parkinson's Disease and they seem to have the same symptoms as me
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Dr. Fernandez Joined: 20 Jan 2007 Posts: 90	Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 7:47 pm Post subject: You are correct. Most PD patients will have a greater problem with dexterity, mobility and coordination rather than brute strength. The explanation for this is the area of the brain affect in PD. The early degeneration occurs in a group of cells called the "basal ganglia"...they comprise the seat of the "extrapyramidal system" of the nervous system and they are responsible for smoothness of movement and coordination. Thus, when they are damaged, PD patients experience stiffness, slowness and worsened dexterity. In contrast, stroke, for example affects the "pyramidal system"...they are also responsible for execution of movement but the majority of strength is carried by this system. Thus, patient who suffered from a stroke often are weak or paralyzed in the body part corresponding to the damaged portion in the brain. You can see it as the 'pyramidal system' is responsible for strength and crude movement, while the extrapyramidal system (involved in PD) is responsible for fine tuning of movement. Yours, _________________ Hubert H. Fernandez