Symptoms
The symptoms of Parkinson’s disease can vary greatly in their severity. At the beginning of the disease, psychological changes often occur first. Often the patient appears depressed (see depression) and becomes physically tired very quickly.
In addition, various complaints and pain in the area of the back and neck can occur. In the course of the early phase of the disease, the writing also becomes smaller. The writing becomes generally less legible.
The speech volume of the patients also gradually decreases. The typical main symptoms, on the basis of which the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease can ultimately be confirmed, consist of “rigor”, “tremor” and “akinesia”.
- Muscle stiffness (Rigor) This leads to a permanent increased muscle tension and associated stiffness.
The arms and legs can often only be stretched or bent in jerky, choppy movements. This is known as the so-called cogwheel phenomenon. Patients also often complain of a feeling of “numbness” in the affected parts of the body.
Usually, the stiffness occurs in a sideways direction. This means that one half of the body is often more affected than the other. This stiffening of the muscles means that many patients have slightly bent arms and legs.
The upper body and head are also often bent forward.
- Shaking (tremor) Shaking occurs in most Parkinson’s patients at a very early stage (in the disease). The hands and feet move rhythmically back and forth. However, this symptom often disappears again in later stages of the disease.
In most cases, this is referred to as “tremor at rest” (rest tremor). This means that tremor occurs particularly in phases of relaxation and rest. However, if the patient makes a directed movement (grasping, for example), there is often a marked improvement.
The tremor can also manifest itself as muscle twitches in the thumb. Strong emotions such as anger or joy, in turn, can lead to an aggravation of the symptoms. In contrast, patients usually do not tremble at all in their sleep.
- Akinese (movement-poor) Here it comes to a clear slowing down of the arbitrary movements.
Affected persons suffer especially when performing actions that require a certain skill (e.g. putting on a shirt or doing manual work). Patients usually have difficulty “starting” a movement. For example, when they want to start walking, their feet appear to be “stuck”.
In the medical field this is called the “freezing phenomenon”. In addition, unconscious movements are also affected by akinesia. For example, facial expressions appear much more rigid than before because patients can no longer show their emotions through their facial expression or facial muscles (in connection with increased production of sebaceous glands, this is also called “ointment face”), and the arms no longer swing along when walking. It is also often very difficult for patients to turn around.
