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Therapy used to treat fear of walking

Rehab Private Practice Alert, October 12, 2005

A neurologist in Rochester, NY, published an article in the September issue of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology about physical therapy as a way to help patients who develop a fear of walking, reports myDNA.com.

Roger Kurlan, of the University of Rochester Medical Center, says patients sometimes develop a fear of falling that affects their ability to walk. He says doctors often diagnose this problem as Parkinson's disease, which can make the condition worse.

Once patients realize it is a mental block and not a physical problem, Kurlan says these patients can learn to walk again through physical therapy geared at building confidence in their feet and balance.

This fear of falling is often brought on by a fall or a traumatic event, but therapists can help patients recover by dealing with psychological problems in a physical way.

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