The Treatment of Akinesia using Virtual Images

by Jerrold D. Prothero

Kinesia Paradoxa

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological disorder with a prevalence in the United States of 347 per 100,000, affecting 1% of people over the age of 65 [72,69]. Parkinson's disease is the third most common neurological disease, with a mean age of onset of 58 years [32]. The disease apparently does not differentially affect specific ethnic groups. There is debate over whether it affects both genders equally [54]. The disease can have a profound negative effect on the productivity of people involved. The most debilitating symptom is that of akinesia [12], or the difficulty in initiating and substaining motion.

Most akinetic persons with Parkinson's disease are capable of near normal motion under some circumstances, an effect known as ``kinesia paradoxa'' [79]. Typically in such cases, more normal ambulation is made possible by providing obstacles for the patient to step over.