Close
Open
Share on Facebook
Twitter
Email
 
Notice: Users may be experiencing issues with displaying some pages on stanfordhealthcare.org. We are working closely with our technical teams to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.
 

COVID-19 Resources »      Vaccine Update »      Visitor Policy »

Menu
Search
Menu
Search
  • Doctors, Clinics & Locations, Conditions & Treatments
  • Patients & Visitors
  • MyHealth
  • Billing
  • Insurance
  • Medical Records
  • Support Groups
  • Financial Assistance
  • COVID-19 Resource Center
  • Locations and Parking
  • Visitor Policy
  • Hospital Check-in
  • Video Visits
  • International Patients
  • Contact Us
View All Information for Patients & Visitors »
We are available to assist you 24/7.
650-498-3333
GuestServices@stanfordhealthcare.org


View the changes to our visitor policy »

 

View information for Guest Services »

New to MyHealth?

Manage Your Care From Anywhere.

Access your health information from any device with MyHealth.  You can message your clinic, view lab results, schedule an appointment, and pay your bill.

ALREADY HAVE AN ACCESS CODE?

Activate Account

DON'T HAVE AN ACCESS CODE?

Create a New Account

NEED MORE DETAILS?

Learn More about MyHealth »
Learn More about Video Visits »

MyHealth for Mobile

Get the iPhone MyHealth app »
Get the Android MyHealth app »

WELCOME BACK

Forgot Username or Password?
Need Help?

Clear

Parkinson's Disease Symptoms

  • About
  • About
Overview
Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatments
  • Surgical
  • Amantadine
  • APOKYN®
  • Azilect®
  • Comtan®
  • Mirapex®
  • Requip®
  • Selegiline
  • Sinemet®
  • Stalevo®
Overview
Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatments
  • Surgical
  • Amantadine
  • APOKYN®
  • Azilect®
  • Comtan®
  • Mirapex®
  • Requip®
  • Selegiline
  • Sinemet®
  • Stalevo®

What are the symptoms of Parkinson's disease?

Symptoms of Parkinson's disease differ from person to person. They also change as the disease progresses. Symptoms that one person gets in the early stages of the disease, another person may not get until later—or not at all.

Symptoms most often start between the ages of 50 and 60. They develop slowly. They often go unnoticed by family, friends, and even the person who has them.

The disease causes motor symptoms and non-motor symptoms. Motor symptoms are those that have to do with how you move. The most common one is tremor.

Tremor and other motor symptoms

Tremor, or shaking, often in a hand, arm, or leg, occurs when you're awake and sitting or standing still (resting tremor). It gets better when you move that body part.

  • Tremor is often the first symptom that people with Parkinson's disease or their family members notice.
  • At first the tremor may appear in just one arm or leg or only on one side of the body. The tremor also may affect the chin, lips, and tongue.
  • As the disease progresses, the tremor may spread to both sides of the body. But in some cases the tremor stays on just one side.

Emotional and physical stress tends to make the tremor more noticeable. Sleep, complete relaxation, and intentional movement or action usually reduce or stop the tremor.

Tremor is one of the most common signs of Parkinson's. But not everyone with tremor has Parkinson's. Unlike tremor caused by Parkinson's, tremor caused by other conditions gets better when your arm or hand isn't moving, and it gets worse when you try to move it.

The most common cause of non-Parkinson's tremor is essential tremor. It's a treatable condition that is often wrongly diagnosed as Parkinson's.

Besides tremor, the most common symptoms include:

Stiff muscles (rigidity) and aching muscles.

One of the most common early signs of Parkinson's is a reduced arm swing on one side when you walk. This is caused by rigid muscles. Rigidity can also affect the muscles of the legs, face, neck, or other parts of the body. It may cause muscles to feel tired and achy.

Weakness of face and throat muscles.

It may get harder to talk and swallow. You may choke, cough, or drool. Speech becomes softer and monotonous. Loss of movement in the muscles in the face can cause a fixed, vacant facial expression, often called the "Parkinson's mask."

Trouble with walking and balance.

A person with this disease is likely to take small steps and shuffle with his or her feet close together. The person may bend forward slightly at the waist and have trouble turning around. Balance and posture problems may cause frequent falls. But these problems usually don't happen until later on.

Freezing.

This is a sudden, brief inability to move. It most often affects walking.

Non-motor symptoms

Parkinson's disease can cause many other symptoms that aren't related to how you move. These can be disabling. They may include things like constipation, sleep problems, and depression.

There are many other conditions with symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease. Some of these may be reversible.

Previous Section Next Section

Condition Spotlight

Patient Stories Parkinson’s Patient Spreads Awareness for the Disease with Push-Ups
New Technology Used to Treat Parkinson's Disease
New Technology Used to Treat Parkinson's Disease Play Video | 2:21
Stanford Hospital's Jaimie Henderson, MD, on Parkinson's Disease
Stanford Hospital's Jaimie Henderson, MD, on Parkinson's Disease Play Video | 3:22
From the Inside Out: Deep Brain Stimulation Designed to Control Parkinson's Disease

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are research studies that evaluate a new medical approach, device, drug, or other treatment. As a Stanford Health Care patient, you may have access to the latest, advanced clinical trials.

Open trials refer to studies currently accepting participants. Closed trials are not currently enrolling, but may open in the future.

Open Trials Closed Trials
Clinical Trials View All »
Safety and Efficacy of CERE-120 in Subjects With Parkinson's Disease Parkinson's Disease
Efficacy & Safety of RPh201 Treatment in Patients With Previous Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (NAION) Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, Stroke
Double-Blind, Multicenter, Sham Surgery Controlled Study of CERE-120 in Subjects With Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease Parkinson's Disease
Neural Signatures of Parkinson's Disease Parkinson's Disease

Clinics for Symptoms

  • Deep Brain Stimulation Program
    650-723-6469
  • Movement Disorders Center
    650-723-6469
  • Neurodiagnostic Labs
    650-723-7181
  • Neuropsychology Clinic
    650-723-7181
  • Find a Doctor
  • Find Conditions & Treatments
  • Find a Stanford clinic
  • For Patients & Visitors
  • Billing
  • Protections Against Surprise Medical Bills
  • Insurance
  • Hospital Check-in
  • Contact Us
  • Video Visits
  • Send a Greeting Card
  • Get a Second Opinion
  • COVID-19 Resource Center
  • Behavioral Standards
  • Make a Gift
  • About Us
  • Quality & Safety
  • Annual Report
  • 300 Pasteur Drive Renewal Program
  • Stanford Health Care Now
  • For Healthcare Professionals
  • Referring Physicians
  • Nursing
  • Allied Healthcare Professionals
First Responders
  • Newsroom
  • Careers
  • Volunteering
  • Vendors
  • Stanford Medicine Partners
  • Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley
  • Stanford Medicine
  • Stanford Medicine Children's Health
  • Stanford University
  • Legal
  • Privacy
  • Code of Conduct
  • |   Notice of Nondiscrimination      ©2022 Stanford Health Care. All Rights Reserved
Home
Close
Doctors
Clinics & Locations
Conditions & Treatments
Clinical Trials
MyHealth Login

Patients & Visitors
Billing
Insurance
Financial Assistance
Medical Records
Contact Us
Video Visits
Get a Second Opinion
COVID-19 Resource Center
Healthcare Professionals
Referring Physicians
Nursing
Allied Healthcare
About Us
Quality & Safety
Careers
Newsroom
Make a Donation
Stanford Health Care Now
Close