Hello. This is Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic.

My body is stiff and my movements are slow, could it be early symptoms of Parkinson's?

"Could I have Parkinson's disease?" If your body suddenly becomes stiff and your movements are not as natural as before, many people may feel this anxiety. At first, it is easy to think that it is simply because of fatigue or getting older. However, as time passes, specific symptoms such as hand tremors or difficulty walking begin to appear, and you visit the hospital worrying if it is an early symptom of Parkinson's disease. These symptoms can go beyond small changes in daily life and have a major impact on quality of life.

💡 [Key Answer] The three most common causes of body stiffness and slow movement: ① Degenerative changes due to aging / ② Autonomic nervous system imbalance / ③ Early non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic helps improve symptoms by restoring brain function and regaining whole-body balance through autonomic nervous system stabilization.

Symptoms of body stiffness and slow movement can appear for various reasons. It could be simple muscle pain, accumulated fatigue, or side effects of taking certain medications, but if you continue to feel discomfort, you cannot exclude the possibility of a problem with an important nervous system function in our body. In particular, in the case of Parkinson's disease, which occurs due to a problem in a specific part of the brain, non-motor symptoms sometimes appear before motor symptoms in the early stages. As dopamine-producing nerve cells in the brain are gradually destroyed, problems occur in nerve transmission, which results in a decrease in the ability to control muscle movement, leading to motor symptoms such as rigidity and bradykinesia (slowed movement).

Parkinson's disease is often known for its tremor symptoms, but non-motor symptoms often appear first in the early stages. Typical examples include a decreased sense of smell, constipation, REM sleep behavior disorder, and depression. For example, if you cannot smell well, suffer from chronic constipation, talk in your sleep severely, or act out while sleeping, you should observe carefully. These non-motor symptoms are closely related to autonomic nervous system imbalance. This is because the autonomic nervous system regulates all involuntary functions of our body and is closely linked to brain function decline. Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic Incheon branch focuses on slowing the progression of Parkinson's disease and improving the quality of life through restoring the balance of the autonomic nervous system.

In Korean medicine, Parkinson's disease is viewed as 'tremor (震顫)', 'rigidity (硬直)', and 'phlegm-rheum (痰飮)', and the main causes are considered to be disorders of Qi and blood circulation in the body and a decrease in the function of internal organs. In particular, when the balance between the brain and the autonomic nervous system is broken, our body loses its ability to regulate itself. Just as an overheated engine malfunctions, the brain also fails to rest and becomes overloaded, which can lead to various neurological symptoms. From this perspective, Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic focuses on treatment that helps the brain regain its original function by restoring the balance of the autonomic nervous system.

A meta-analysis study by Zhang, J. H. et al., published in the journal 'Complementary Therapies in Medicine' in 2019, analyzed 16 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 1,144 Parkinson's disease patients. According to this study, when acupuncture treatment was combined with conventional drug treatment, the motor function evaluation scale (UPDRS III) score improved significantly by an average of 2.89 points compared to the conventional drug treatment group alone (95% CI -4.50 to -1.28, p < 0.001), and the quality of life (PDQ-39) was also found to be improved. The researchers concluded that acupuncture treatment is an effective and safe complementary therapy for improving motor function and quality of life in Parkinson's disease patients. These data suggest that Korean medical treatment can have a positive effect on the physical function recovery of Parkinson's disease patients.

Also, according to a systematic review by Zhang, W. et al., published in the journal 'Frontiers in Neurology' in 2020, an analysis of 19 randomized controlled trials involving 1,374 Parkinson's disease patients showed that herbal medicine treatment had a significant effect on improving non-motor symptoms. In particular, it showed that non-motor symptoms commonly experienced by Parkinson's disease patients, such as constipation, sleep disorders, and depression, could be alleviated through herbal medicine treatment. The researchers suggested that herbal medicine could be a promising adjunctive therapy for the non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. These research results support that in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, Korean medical approaches, especially herbal medicine treatment related to autonomic nervous system regulation, can play an important role. Based on these treatment principles, Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic strives to improve the symptoms of patients seeking Incheon Parkinson's Korean Medicine Clinic through customized prescriptions that calm excessive excitement of the cranial nervous system and help restore nerve cells.

Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic sees the fundamental cause of brain and autonomic nervous system diseases such as Parkinson's disease as an imbalance of the autonomic nervous system. When the balance of the autonomic nervous system is broken, the brain cannot rest, and this can accelerate the decline of brain function. Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic focuses on lowering the heat of the nervous system and creating an environment where the brain can rest—in Korean medicine, this is called Suseunghwagang (水昇火降).

Autonomic nervous system stabilization treatment has the following goals:

• Brain function recovery: It helps the brain function stably by stabilizing the excessively heightened sympathetic nervous system and activating the function of the parasympathetic nervous system. Through this, it contributes to slowing down damage to brain nerve cells and regaining the balance of neurotransmitters.
• Improvement of whole-body circulation: By smoothing the circulation of Qi and blood, it improves blood flow to the brain and helps discharge toxins from the entire body. This has a positive effect not only on brain health but also on improving non-motor symptoms such as indigestion or constipation, which Parkinson's disease patients commonly experience.
• Quality of life improvement: We manage not only motor symptoms such as tremors, rigidity, and bradykinesia but also non-motor symptoms that lower the quality of life, such as sleep disorders, depression, and chronic fatigue, to help patients regain a more vibrant daily life.

This approach goes beyond simple symptom relief and aims to help the brain and body regain the power to recover on their own by resolving the imbalance of the autonomic nervous system, which is the root of the symptoms. For those looking for Songdo Autonomic Nervous System Korean Medicine Clinic, this treatment is especially important.

If you fall under 3 or more of the following items, we recommend that you suspect autonomic nervous system imbalance or early symptoms of Parkinson's disease and consider Korean medicine complex treatment at Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic Incheon branch. If it's 5 or more, an immediate visit may be necessary.

• My hands or feet tremble frequently without me knowing.
• My body movements feel slower and stiffer than before.
• My gait is unstable and I often seem to lose my balance.
• My handwriting becomes small or it is difficult to draw pictures.
• My expression hardens, and I am told it's like I'm wearing a mask.
• I often choke during meals or my voice becomes smaller.
• My sleep talking becomes severe, and actions such as moving my arms and legs occur during sleep.
• I cannot smell well or suffer from chronic constipation.
• Feelings of depression or lethargy appear continuously.

Q. How much does Parkinson's disease have to progress to be diagnosed? A. Parkinson's disease can be difficult to diagnose in the early stages because symptoms are vague. Before motor symptoms such as tremors, rigidity, and bradykinesia clearly appear, premonitory symptoms often appear from 10 to 20 years before the onset with non-motor symptoms such as decreased sense of smell, constipation, and sleep disorders. It is important to consult an expert early if symptoms are suspected.

Q. Is Parkinson's disease also treated with Oriental medicine? A. Parkinson's disease is not a disease that is managed after treatment in Western medicine, but Oriental medicine treatment can be of great help in alleviating symptoms and improving quality of life. In particular, through autonomic nervous system regulation, it can contribute to improving motor and non-motor symptoms (sleep disorders, constipation, depression, etc.) and reducing drug side effects.

Q. Can early symptoms of Parkinson's disease heal naturally? A. Parkinson's disease is a degenerative brain disease, and it is difficult for symptoms to improve naturally. Rather, symptoms may gradually progress over time. Therefore, it is important to actively treat and manage it when early symptoms are suspected.

Q. I have body stiffness and dizziness together, can they be treated together? A. Yes, body stiffness and dizziness are often closely related to autonomic nervous system imbalance. At Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic, through autonomic nervous system stabilization treatment, we treat the fundamental causes of these complex symptoms together and can expect simultaneous improvement.

Symptoms of body stiffness and slow movement are not problems that can be solved by enduring them. You no longer have to ignore the signals your body has been sending for a long time. If you approach it in the right direction, your body reacts faster than you think. Bring the symptoms you are experiencing as they are. Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic will find the cause together.

Where life blooms. Herbal medicine is, after all, Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic. Check for symptoms similar to mine through the AI consultation on the Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic website first!

This article is health information compiled by Dalimchae medical staff based on questions frequently received in the consultation room. Medical Supervision | Min Jihong, Korean Medicine Doctor at Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic Incheon Branch, specializing in brain and autonomic nervous system (Parkinson's Disease Column)

#ParkinsonsDisease #EarlyParkinsonsSymptoms #AutonomicNerves #IncheonParkinsonsKoreanMedicineClinic #SongdoKoreanMedicineClinic #BodyStiffness #AutonomicNerveImbalance #BrainHealth