Watch out when "city walking" with Parkinson's
It is nearly impossible to walk in the city and to avoid multi-tasking. There are fast and slow moving cars. There are plenty of machine generated and people generated sounds. There are blinking street lights. You may be looking at your smartphone for directions. Collectively, this is a formula for disaster— precipitating falls and fractures. One of the biggest issues is “not seeing the curb.” Check out our tips on this weeks Facebook Video on Living with Parkinson’s video about being careful when “city walking.” Here are a few tips.
Put your smartphone away.
If someone is walking with you, ask them to “be your eyes” so you can pay attention to your feet, your path and the “curbs.”
Do not try to rush to cross the street. Take your time and if you “freeze,” try not to panic.
If you get stuck in the intersection, wave your hands and ask for help— if there is no one walking with you. Try to get the attention of the car i n your path by making eye contact with the driver and waving your hands. Usually, people will stop and help.
You can injure yourself by both stepping off of the curb and onto the curb. Be careful of both scenarios.
Remember to not to multi-task (e.g. looking at your phone, looking in windows, being distracted by sounds…). Multi-tasking leads to falls…
If you can “city walk with a buddy, that is usually the safest scenario.
