Difficulty dual tasking

I think of this as difficulty walking and chewing gum at the same time. I didn’t realize that I was struggling with this until I went to Parkinson’s specific physical therapy at Cleveland Clinic.

One of the activities my physical therapist had me do was to put me on a treadmill and attach some Blazepods on the rails on the sides. (More on Blazepods below.). When the pod flashed red, I would have to say an animal and turn and hit the pod with my right hand, when a pod flashed blue, I would have to say the name of a state and turn and it that one with my left hand.

There are all sorts of activities that can be done with the Blazepods to improve reaction time, and dual tasking.

My friend Rita and I practicing balance and dual tasking with the Blazepods.

At first, this was way more difficult than I had expected it to be, but after a few times I made significant improvement.

Blazepods, connect to an app with all sorts of recommendations for activities to practice multi-tasking and reaction time. They are kind of pricey, and I don’t know that I use them enough to make it worth it, but they would be a great addition to a PD community center or gym.

They are also great to incorporate with boxing, by attaching to the punching bag and having to hit one color with your right hand, a different color with your left hand to keep you on your toes and thinking about more than one thing at a time.