Regular readers of this newsletter will know that, upon their request, I take my Tai Chi instruction to a regional branch of Parkinson's disease sufferers. We meet twice a month and have done so for over a year now. Every session we do lots of sat down Chi Kung and then, bit by bit, make our way into The Yang Long Form; adapted to also be done sitting down. We call it "top half tai chi". It has it limitations but the participants' certainly seem to enjoy and - best of all - a couple of people have reported unexpected benefits and relief from certain 'problems' and in another instance, unexpected relief from 'problems' or pains other than those directly associated with Parkinson's. Given these occurrences I shall use this issue of the taichido newsletter to report upon them. You may detect a hint of sarcasm!

Three trainee heath care professionals invited themselves to the session at the beginning of the month. There was a trainee doctor, a trainee physiotherapist and a trainee pharmacist. They came that day because it was simply the only day that those three were able to attend together. It surprised me to find out that the fact that the group did Tai Chi that day was not considered by these visiting health professionals to be a bonus or interesting thing to make observations on - but actually an inconvenience!

The three had in fact come that day to get questionnaires completed. They didn't apologise to me for this, call it what you want, interruption or disruption; indeed they, not one of the three spoke to me at all. The leader/chairperson of the Parkinson's group did explain that what had to happen is that only those that declined the three questionnaires would take part in the Tai Chi. This more or less split my normal group in half. Undaunted (for now) we commenced. Us at one end of the hall, the others down the other end ... answering questions and filling in forms.

At this session one of the participants mentioned that she had pain in her left arm. Her Parkinson's, like some strokes, affects one side of her body. In this instance it affects the right side - from shoulder to foot. I return to this case later. But first, a tale that is connected to it.

At our session two weeks earlier I was happy to tell the group that a frozen shoulder that I had suffered for the past 4-5 months was now almost totally relieved. Upon outset of this condition I went to the doctor - and his diagnosis was that it was "just one of those things" that effected a percentage of men my age, gave me a leaflet and arranged for me to be tested for Diabetes. Why? Because in men of my age - frozen shoulders are more commonplace in those that are Diabetic. I am pleased to say that the results of that blood test proved negative. "Nothing wrong" was likewise the conclusion of an X-ray that the doctor next sent me for - after he found out that I was not diabetic!

The leaflet (an edited down summery) said:
The typical symptoms of a frozen shoulder are pain, stiffness, and limitation in the range of movement of a shoulder.
The symptoms typically have three phases.
Phase one - the 'freezing', painful phase. This typically lasts 2-9 months.
Phase two - the 'frozen', stiff phase. This typically lasts 4-12 months.
Phase three - the 'thawing', recovery phase. This typically lasts 5-24 months.
[minimum typical = 11 months - max = 45 months i.e. nearly 4 years]

Thus, the leaflet goes on to say:
There is great variation in the severity and length of symptoms. Untreated, on average the symptoms last 2-3 years. In some cases it is much less than this. In a minority of cases, symptoms last for several years. Frozen shoulder is not a form of arthritis, and other joints are not affected.

What causes frozen shoulder?
The cause is not clear. One suggestion is that scar tissue develops on the capsule that covers and protects the shoulder joint, causing it to thicken. The reason why the scar tissue forms is not known.

Treatments listed:
1. Inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen, diclofenac, naproxen etc.
2. Shoulder exercises ... as instructed by a doctor or physiotherapist.
3. Physiotherapist. They may try other pain relieving techniques such as heat, cold, TENS machines, etc.
4. A steroid injection. Steroids reduce inflammation but it is not a 'cure' as symptoms tend to gradually return.
5. Nerve block. Blocking the nerves that send pain messages from the shoulder. This is a technique that a specialist may try however, like steroids nerve blocking only eases symptoms for a while.
6. Hydrodistention. Again this is a technique that a specialist might try. Saline (salt water) is mixed with steroid and injected into the painful shoulder to expand (distend) it.
7. Finally, surgery is briefly discussed. No need to go into that stuff right here and now.

So anyway, like I said a little earlier, at the beginning of this month I was pleased to tell the Parkinson's group that my frozen shoulder was now a lot better.

As far as our 'top half tai chi' is concerned we are about two thirds of the way through Part One of the Yang Long form. We are at "brush left knee" and so on.

There is a sequence (a long way off for the Parkinson's group) in Part Three called "Part the Horses Maine" which involves footwork, torso rotation and a symmetrical interplay of shoulder/arm/hand movements. This last facet is what gives the posture its name. The action is like plunging one arm after the other to "Part the Horses Maine". If or when the Parkinson's group get this far the footwork will by necessity need to be ignored, but the torso and arm movements will be applied as always. Given that the top half of this posture is relatively simple I felt there might be value in practicing it as a stand alone. This was compounded by the fact that I feel that this particular posture and the repetitive practice of it was a major contributory factor in the (statically) speedy relief of all pain in my frozen shoulder. Accordingly, just a month ago I instructed the Parkinson's group on this posture as a kind of sitting chi kung.

When I returned 2 weeks later I was approached by 3 members of the group separately. Two, both men told me that since practicing "Part Horses Main" as a top half only they find that whilst doing it (though it must also be said, only whilst doing it) they are able to almost totally control their tremors! The third person was the fore mentioned lady with elbow/wrist pain. She, in her own words said that this limb was now (only 2 weeks later) "100 percent better"! She, those 2 gentlemen and about 4 others choose that week to do Tai Chi with me - rather than fill in forms with the visiting health professionals!

Postscript.
In the middle of last week I made my most recent visit to the Parkinson's group. The same half dozen or so sat in front of me again and partook of that session. Those that sat behind me at the previous session did so again ... but this time, as confirmed by a glance over my shoulder, a little surprised by the rare silence back there; I was delighted to notice that they were all giving it a go! I trust that the health care professionals have correlated their figures and statistics by now !!!