Living with a neurological condition can change the way you move. You may notice that walking takes more effort, your balance isn’t as reliable as it used to be, your muscles feel weaker, or everyday activities require more concentration and energy.
Conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, Guillain-Barré Syndrome, Huntington’s disease, cerebral palsy and other neurological conditions can affect strength, coordination, balance, endurance and mobility.
But neurological symptoms don’t necessarily mean that you should stop moving. In fact, appropriately prescribed exercise and rehabilitation can play an important role in maintaining and improving physical function. The World Health Organization includes rehabilitation interventions for neurological conditions such as stroke and Parkinson’s disease, and evidence-based physical activity can improve areas including balance, walking, mobility and endurance. (World Health Organization)
This is where Biokinetics can play an important role. At Reignite Health, Bokamoso Mthimkulu Biokineticist provides personalised exercise rehabilitation designed around each person’s condition, abilities and goals.
What Happens to Balance and Mobility with Neurological Conditions?
The nervous system plays a major role in controlling movement.
It helps your brain communicate with your muscles, joints, eyes, inner ear, spinal cord, and sensory systems. When a neurological condition affects these systems, you may experience changes in the way you move. These can include:
- Muscle weakness
- Reduced coordination
- Balance problems
- Tremors
- Stiffness
- Changes in walking
- Reduced endurance
- Slower reactions
- Changes in posture
- Difficulty changing direction
- Increased fatigue
The exact symptoms vary considerably between individuals and between conditions. This is why neurological exercise rehabilitation needs to be personalised.
What Is Biokinetics?
Biokinetics is a healthcare profession that uses exercise therapy to improve physical function and quality of life. In South Africa, Biokinetics is regulated under the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), which has a Professional Board for Physiotherapy, Podiatry and Biokinetics and publishes a defined scope of practice for Biokinetics. (HPCSA)
A Biokineticist assesses your current physical abilities and develops an exercise programme based on your needs. For neurological rehabilitation, this may include exercises targeting:
- Strength
- Balance
- Mobility
- Coordination
- Cardiovascular fitness
- Endurance
- Functional movement
- Postural control
7 Ways Biokinetics Can Help Improve Balance and Mobility
1. Strengthening Weak Muscles
Neurological conditions can result in muscle weakness or reduced physical activity. Weakness in the legs can make activities such as standing up, walking, climbing stairs, getting out of a car, and maintaining balance more difficult.
A Biokineticist can use appropriately prescribed resistance exercises to target areas of weakness and gradually improve functional strength. The programme needs to account for the individual’s neurological condition, fatigue and exercise tolerance.
2. Improving Balance
Balance isn’t simply about standing on one leg. Your body constantly receives information from your eyes, inner ear, muscles, joints, and nervous system and uses this information to keep you upright.
Neurological conditions can disrupt some of these systems. Biokinetics can incorporate exercises that challenge:
- Static balance
- Dynamic balance
- Weight shifting
- Postural control
- Coordination
- Balance during walking
3. Improving Walking Ability
Walking can become more difficult when neurological conditions affect strength, coordination, balance or motor control. Exercise rehabilitation can focus on functional components of walking, including:
- Leg strength
- Balance
- Step control
- Coordination
- Endurance
- Postural control
The goal isn’t necessarily to make you walk exactly as you did before your condition. Instead, the focus is on helping you achieve the best and safest level of mobility possible for you.
4. Improving Cardiovascular Fitness and Endurance
Fatigue and reduced physical activity can create a cycle:
Less activity → reduced fitness → increased effort → more fatigue → even less activity.
Appropriately prescribed cardiovascular exercise can help break this cycle. Your Biokineticist can adjust exercise intensity, duration and recovery periods according to your response.
5. Improving Coordination and Motor Control
Some neurological conditions affect coordination and the ability to control movement. Exercise can incorporate repetitive and functional movement patterns designed to challenge:
- Coordination
- Reaction
- Body awareness
- Weight transfer
- Movement control
Repetition is important because rehabilitation is about gradually improving the body’s ability to perform useful movements.
6. Improving Functional Independence
Ultimately, rehabilitation isn’t about being able to complete an exercise in the treatment room. It’s about what you can do in your everyday life. For example, improved strength and balance may help you:
- Get out of a chair
- Walk around your home
- Climb stairs
- Get dressed
- Carry objects
- Go shopping
- Walk outdoors
- Participate in social activities
Maintaining independence can have a significant effect on quality of life.
7. Helping Maintain Physical Function
For some neurological conditions, rehabilitation isn’t necessarily about achieving a dramatic improvement. Sometimes the goal is to maintain the abilities you currently have for as long as possible. This can be incredibly valuable. Maintaining strength, mobility, balance, cardiovascular fitness, and independence can help prevent physical deconditioning and keep you participating in everyday life.
Which Neurological Conditions Can Benefit From Biokinetics?
Biokinetics may form part of rehabilitation for people living with conditions such as:
- Multiple Sclerosis
Exercise may focus on strength, mobility, balance, cardiovascular fitness and managing the effects of fatigue.
- Parkinson’s Disease
Exercise can target strength, balance, walking, mobility and functional movement. Evidence indicates that physical activity can improve aspects of motor symptoms and functional mobility in Parkinson’s disease. (Iris)
- Stroke
Rehabilitation may focus on balance, walking, lower- and upper-limb function, endurance and activities of daily living. The WHO identifies these as important rehabilitation areas following stroke. (Iris)
- Guillain-Barré Syndrome
Following the acute phase and when medically appropriate, rehabilitation can help rebuild strength, endurance and functional capacity.
- Huntington’s Disease
Exercise can be adapted to address strength, balance, mobility, coordination and functional ability.
- Cerebral Palsy
Exercise may focus on strength, mobility, balance, cardiovascular fitness and maintaining functional independence.
- Neuropathy
Exercise can be adapted to address strength, balance, mobility and physical conditioning while taking altered sensation and safety into consideration.
What About Fatigue?
Fatigue is an important consideration in many neurological conditions. A rehabilitation programme should consider:
- Exercise intensity
- Duration
- Rest periods
- Time of day
- Recovery
- Overall daily activity
- Your individual response to exercise
The goal isn’t to exhaust you. The goal is to improve your physical capacity without unnecessarily overwhelming your system. A Biokineticist can modify your programme according to how your body responds.
Can Biokinetics Reduce the Risk of Falls?
It can help address several physical factors associated with fall risk, including weakness, poor balance, reduced mobility, reduced coordination, and poor postural control. Balance training combined with strength and functional exercise can help improve physical capacity and confidence.
However, fall prevention should be comprehensive. Your home environment, vision, medications, footwear and other health factors may also need to be considered.
What Happens During a Neurological Biokinetics Assessment?
Your first assessment is about understanding how your condition affects your movement and everyday function.
Depending on your condition, your Biokineticist may assess:
- Strength
How strong are your major muscle groups?
- Balance
How well can you maintain your position during different tasks?
- Mobility
How easily can your joints and body segments move?
- Walking
How do you move during walking and functional activities?
- Coordination
How effectively can you control different movements?
- Cardiovascular fitness
How well can you tolerate physical activity?
- Functional ability
How easily can you perform everyday tasks?
The assessment helps determine where your programme should begin.
Biokinetics Works as Part of a Healthcare Team
Neurological rehabilitation often involves several healthcare professionals. Depending on your condition, your team may include:
- Neurologist
- General practitioner
- Physiotherapist
- Occupational therapist
- Speech therapist
- Biokineticist
- Dietitian
- Other rehabilitation professionals
Biokinetics doesn’t replace these professionals. Instead, it can complement their work by providing structured exercise rehabilitation focused on physical function.
When Should You See a Biokineticist?
Consider speaking to a Biokineticist if you’re experiencing:
- Reduced balance
- Difficulty walking
- Muscle weakness
- Reduced endurance
- Loss of physical fitness
- Difficulty with everyday activities
- Fear of falling
- Reduced mobility
- Physical deconditioning
You don’t necessarily need to wait until your symptoms become severe. Early and ongoing exercise rehabilitation can be valuable for maintaining physical function.
Final Thoughts
Neurological conditions can change the way your body moves, but movement remains an important part of maintaining physical function. Biokinetics can help you work on the areas that matter most from strength and balance to walking, endurance and functional independence. Sometimes the goal is improvement, sometimes it’s maintaining the abilities you already have, and sometimes it’s simply becoming more confident in your body again.
Every person’s neurological rehabilitation journey is different. If you’re searching for a Biokineticist in Fourways or Biokinetics near me, Bokamoso Mthimkulu Biokineticist at Reignite Health can assess your physical function and develop an exercise programme around your individual needs.
Wishing you a lovely week ahead. Chat soon.
Bokz the Bio
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