Approach to the Exam for Parkinson's Disease

This video is brought to you by the Stanford Medicine 25 to teach you the exam to diagnose Parkinson's Disease confidently as well as monitor response to treatment or progression of disease.

The video is lead by Dr. Kathleen Poston. She is faculty at Stanford and a neurologist with an expertise in movement disorders. She is an active researcher in the field of Parkinson's Disease and an wonderful clinician. (The patient is this video, Larry, is a patient of Dr. Poston's.)

* All exams are demonstrated with examples of real abnormalities thanks to our amazing patients! Special thank you to Larry for being the primary patient in this video. Larry is an amazing teacher and person!

The four cardinal parts of the exam for Parkinson's Disease (covered in detail in this video) are:
1) Bradykinesia (required for diagnosis of
2) Rigidity
3) Tremor (usually rest tremor but also kinetic and intentional tremor)
4) Issues with gait and postural instability

The Stanford Medicine 25 program for bedside medicine at the Stanford School of Medicine aims to promote the culture of bedside medicine to make current and future clinicians and other healthcare provides better at the art of physical diagnosis and more confident at the bedside of their patients.

Visit us:

[dge.]

It’s so immensely inspiring to see an actual patient in videos like these. It reminds me why I’m bending over my books all day. Thank you Larry and thank you, Stanford Med!

[heatherk.]

Way to go, Larry! I hope he's still going strong, now four years later. I always appreciate folks who are willing to let the rest of us learn "off" of them and their troubles.

[joshyantony]

Please tell Larry he has good wishes from all over the world!!
Thank you doctor for this wonderful presentation!
I still can't stop thanking Larry enough :)

[skylerjames]

Thank you Larry!! I hope you know how many medical schools your video is used at all over the country, and thus how many students you have helped learn. Getting to learn from real patients makes all the difference in the world and reminds me what all this work is for. Excellent video.

[hunkaboomer]

I have essential tremors that are a reflection of my anxiety. Sometimes I think, “Do I have Parkinson’s?” because I shake so bad, but this YouTube instructional helps me know that I don’t have anything more than tremors

[momtazularefin]

Bradykinesia 1:38
Rigidity 5:03
Tremor 8:07
Gait & Balance 11:00

[olaflai]

THANK YOU!!
Amazing video. Please tell Larry that we all wish him good health and happiness. :)

[maryherron]

Thank you Dr. Posten and Larry. Now I'm not so scared when I go to have mine done. I certainly appreciate how well you explained everything.

[alouise]

Over 700, 000 of us probably did the first few exercises "just to see".

[siddharthchikhalkar]

Thank you so much Larry Sir for teaching us! I hope you're doing just fine after 5 years! Also Thanking Dr. Kathleen for teaching us and being such gentle towards Larry. God bless!!

[hatirose]

Thank you Larry, that was very helpful, and thanks to standford medicine 25 for uploading great videos.

[manikandansrt]

Thank you Larry and Dr.Poston. Wish you all good things.

[tanny]

Thanks Larry! Though you may not see the message, but thanks a lot! You are the greatest teacher to us!

[patnewman]

Prior to my diagnosis of PD three years ago I noticed a tremor in my left hand. Because I am a Vietnam Veteran my primary care Doctor scheduled an appointment with a Neurologist. Before I met with the Neurologist I looked at a lot of videos which discussed PD symptoms, but this is by far the best video for PD that I have seen. Thank you for posting it.

[VivekSingh-kckw]

Best explanation ever in my whole medical life

[CorkyDaCat]

I under went most of those examinations and was given a preliminary diagnosis of PD just before Xmas. We thought my Tremors was due to my Extreme Anxiety and PTSD (both diagnosed). But watching YT videos such as this (& MJ Fox) is helping me understand my situation. The buttoning up process is a real challenge for me, same with shoe laces but it's all making sense to me and my Doctor now. Thank you.

[josephinemacken]

What a fantastic teacher and educator you are, Dr. Poston! You are also a compassionate and thoughtful doctor!

[albertdesalvo]

Dr. Kathleen Poston has ample charms. All the best for Larry.

[TheUnderclocked]

I just came back from an initial exam for Parkinson's tremor. I believe the nurse practitioner that examined me must have just watched this video beforehand. My responses very closely resemble Larry's to even include the predominance of symptoms on the left side.
Best wishes to Larry!

[leeandrewcowles]

Thank you Larry, as others have said it makes a world of difference seeing a real person rather than another page or PowerPoint slide! So good of you to take part.