Bent posture

Ernie123 · May 2022

I am curious if anyone else has a LO whose posture has bent forward as the disease progresses. My DW is now in Stage 6 and over the last year or so has involuntarily bent forward at the waist making walking off balance, even with a walker. Sometimes sitting at the table she will end up with her face almost on the table and she cannot seem to sit up. Some days are worse than others but it has led to stumbles and falls as she can’t remember to use her walker. She is 75 but in good skeletal health, strong bones and muscles. Has anyone else had this experience?

spirit97x3 · May 2022

Ernie123; my wife bends forward too, but not as far as yours yet. Even sitting she tends to lean forwards a lot and hangs her head down. She also lets her right arm hang down too. She too is in great health internally for the most part.

Vitruvius · May 2022

DW is 70 and probably late Stage 6. She leans forward and this increases as the day wears on, or if we go for a walk. She leans forward at the table as well but not nearly as much as your wife. She was previously athletic and in good health although she does have scoliosis. Walking has become slower and she shuffles after a short distance. She has fallen twice and I now hold her hand continuously when ever we are out.

jmlarue · May 2022

I'm pretty sure I read about these posture issues being directly related to the progressive damage to the brain. I'm thinking that there was info on this from some ALZ.org sources or I might have picked it up from Teepa Snow discussing the various symptoms of dementia damage in various parts of the brain. You might be able to find some answers with a simple Google search. As with all things dementia, it's fairly common, particularly in later stages of the disease. When my MIL was in the late stage and in nursing home care, I remember the staff making use of gait belt on her upper chest (under her armpits) to support her in a more upright posture when sitting in her wheelchair. It was one of the reasons she was transitioned from using a walker to being in a wheelchair in the first place, as a way to minimize her fall risk.

Quilting brings calm · May 2022

There are various reasons for this, some of which are related to dementia and some are not. I have read that this is common in Parkinson’s and FTD. I’ve read that sone elderly do lean forward due to damage to the joints, muscles, discs, etc in their back.

As you know I had a couple compressed fractures in my vertebrae over the winter. Some of my therapy exercises involved bending my back backwards ( pushing my stomach forward). Those were meant to help me be upright rather than leaning forward. The doctor made a point of telling me upon my release that the final X-rays showed my spine upright and not not leaning forward

M1 · May 2022

Postural changes like you are describing were the first--and until a few months before death the only--sign of Lewy Body Dementia in my sister in law. Missed by many medical professionals, including me, for about five years. Lesson learned. So yes, I think you can probably assume that it is related to disease progression, one way or another.

Ernie123 · May 2022

Thank you for your comments. I understand it is probably due to her progression. It seems a bit unusual in that she is the only one in her unit of 14 residents doing this. Staff have said it is not uncommon, especially with Lewy Body dementia. Maybe a wheel chair will come sooner that I anticipated. Ten years ago she was skiing, golfing, hiking in great shape. Now a short walk in the unit is risky, she has had several falls recently. It is tough to watch and to try and accept these changes as inevitable. Some days she doesn’t know me and can’t talk coherently. But today after I had said goodbye and was leaving one of the PSWs hurried out to the door to tell me that after I had gone she said “I really enjoy his company “. Little things mean a lot!