About Parkinson's Disease
The Effects of Parkinson’s
According to a study, Parkinson’s is one of the fastest growing forms of neurodegenerative diseases.
Common symptoms include motor changes such as slowing movements, tremor (shaking), muscle stiffness as well as freezing (difficulties starting to move), the tendency to fall etc. (Przuntek et al, 2002).
In addition, various issues such as balance disorders, an impaired ability to swallow, incontinence and bladder weakness, digestive problems, memory disorders, may occur.
Johann “Salzhans” Salzwimmer
The Discovery of smovey®
The inventor of smovey and the Vibroswing-System is Johann “Salzhans” Salzwimmer. Full of energy and enjoying life, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the end of the 1990s. He accepted his diagnosis, but known throughout the Steyr/Ennstal region as an outstanding tennis player and skier, he began to rapidly develop a method to stabilize his condition. The result of this research was the Vibroswing-System and the movement and lifestyle bearing the name “smovey.”
A healthy life following the example of Mother Nature: He has succeeded over the years to maximize his quality of life while minimizing his dependence on medicine. He also stays true to his mantra: “The power of fluid movement – and the strength of natural rest.”
An Austrian Role Model
The creator of this device and role model for many people: Johann “Salzhans” Salzwimmer from Großraming in Upper Austria is a beacon of hope and role model for many Parkinson’s patients.
As a successful innkeeper, tennis and ski instructor, he was firmly rooted in life when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1996. His health deteriorated drastically and everyday activities became a real challenge that he could only manage with difficulty. However, “Salzhans”, as he is called by many, never gave up. True to his mantra “I’ll only post a letter, but never postpone my life”, he persistently searched for possibilities to improve and stabilize his mobility.
The Swing of Life
Among other things, he noticed that his condition improved when he was playing tennis. He studied the serving technique of certain professional tennis players who took a few swings before smashing the ball over the net. Then it “clicked” for Salzhans: It was swings that might help him maintain his mobility in spite of Parkinson’s!
The First Swing Ring
He experimented with tennis rackets, went for a walk with them, but he lacked momentum. He then attached a garden hose with free-running balls to the curve of the tennis racket that would increase the momentum and thus the effect., but he was not satisfied with the result. After an intense phase of trial and error, a corrugated pump-suction hose at the local plumber caught his eye. He took this hose home, filled it with balls and attached a makeshift grip: The first swing ring was born.
Today the well-known swing rings called smovey are handmade by people with disabilities in a workshop in Weyer and help people around the world. The rings are used in health and therapy settings, but are equally popular for smoveyWALKING and fitness programs.
smovey® Was Born
On the one hand, smoveys generate momentum and on the other hand, they generate vibrations. The four free-running steel balls on the inside of the corrugated tube create a vibration that is very beneficial for people. These vibrations reach and activate the deep muscles and the nervous system. The hand reflex zones transmit these fine stimulating and activating vibrations to the entire organism. Salzhans made use of precisely this effect and swung his rings for several minutes, multiple times a day.
The Legacy of Salzahns
After regular use of smovey Salzahns was able to move more freely, experienced far less freezing, if at all, and was able to perform larger upward and sideward movements. He could also perceive an improvement in his gait; swinging his arms helped him with lifting his feet.
Johann Salzwimmer died quite unexpectedly in February 2022 in his 76th year of life. He was full of courage and confidence to the end of his life and swung his beloved smoveys until shortly before his death. His invention and above all the people he got to know through it and who valued him and his life‘s work were his lifeblood and gave him motivation and drive to the end.
