Exercise that's different - the Theracycle

One of the earliest discoveries about PD was accidental.  A pwp rode a tandem bicycle with a doctor at Ragbrai, an annual cross-Iowa cycling event.  She was pedaling faster than she would have, because of her partner - and by the end of the week, many of her PD symptoms had improved markedly.  That experience grew into a whole series of experiments that demonstrated that when rats - and people - have to exercise faster than they ordinarily would, their PD symptoms improve (in the rats' case this was PD-like symptoms).

That Ragbrai experience on the tandem bike was forced exercise.

The Theracycle is reminiscent of a stationery bicycle, with important differences - it doesn't have a bike seat (and that's good, for there is very little comfortable about a bike seat), and it has a motor that enables you to pedal faster than you'd choose to pedal on your own.  You could use it as a stationery bike, but you can have it assist you to go faster - that's the forced exercise.

There are cheaper versions of the Theracycle, but they lack a critical safety feature - do you want the bike to keep pedaling when your feet are attached to the pedals - if you fall off the bike?  Me, neither.  The Theracycle has a "deadman" switch similar to treadmills; you pin it to your clothing so if you fall the cord pulls a magnet off its target and the machine stops.

We purchased a Theracycle used, almost new, for under $2,000, less than half the cost of new (which would be $4,800 for this model.)  My husband found it on Craigslist.

I gotta warn you - like a treadmill, it's boring.  My husband, bless him,  hooked up a tablet clamped to the right of the display, so I can watch Youtube.

For awhile I used the forced exercise aspect of the Theracycle, but it is a bit too energetic for my additional diagnosis (myelitis, which is similar to MS; see previous blog).  Now, I'm only allowed to do moderate exercise, not vigorous at all - and when I do vigorous exercise now I end of stiff (unable to move stiff), exhausted for 24-48 hours, and sorry.  This is frustrating since I became a real exercise nut before.

But I can stay on the Theracycle for long periods if I set the speed lower.  Possibly I can build up to a faster speed at some time in the future.  For now, I can work out at a lower speed but for quite awhile; typically I walk on the treadmill for 15 or 20 minutes, then use the Theracycle for 20-40 minutes more.  If I'm tired, I skip the treadmill and use just the Theracycle. Even at the slower rate my legs are stronger.

So the Theracycle has been a boon for both conditions.

Image from https://www.theracycle.com/forced-exercise-bikes-for-pd/theracycle-200/