Parkinson’s disease is a complex neurodegenerative and neuropsychological disorder. Often, pharmacological treatments alone are unable to adequately manage the numerous motor and non-motor symptoms associated with the disease. Since 2019, to meet this need, the Parkinson No Limits association, among its various offerings, organizes and carries out personalized outdoor therapeutic holidays, specifically for people with Parkinson’s and their families, welcoming both residents of the Canary Islands and participants from other countries. The innovative and cutting-edge rehabilitation protocol, together with complementary therapies carried out outdoors, has made it possible to achieve positive goals in terms of the quality of life and health potential of the numerous participants.
The Professionals Involved
The program is guided by a multidisciplinary team of professionals that combines clinical and rehabilitative expertise:
- F. De Bartolomeis: Psychomotrician, coordinator, and head of the team at the FuerteVida Parkinson No Limits Association in Fuerteventura, Spain.
- S. Della Morte: Psychotherapist for FuerteVida Parkinson No Limits and the ParkinZone A.p.s. association in Rome, Italy.
- E. Berti: Clinical Psychologist and PhD Candidate in Neuroscience at the Department of Systems Medicine of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy.
- N. Modugno: Department of Neurology at the IRCCS INM Neuromed in Pozzilli, Italy.
A Tailor-Made Methodology
The uniqueness of these therapeutic holidays lies in their high degree of personalization:
- Every project is built jointly by the person with Parkinson’s, their family, and the multidisciplinary team.
- At the core of the program is a careful assessment of the interests, needs, lifestyle, health potential, and specific therapeutic needs of the person and their family.
- The intervention is not limited to the vacation days: it begins before the stay, continues during the activities, and proceeds even after returning home through a personalized online follow-up service.
Activity and Environment: Nature as Therapy
The method combines social, therapeutic, and clinical dimensions within a natural context. The chosen environment plays a crucial role: the activities take place in Fuerteventura, recognized as a Biosphere Reserve, which offers a stable climate, a strong connection with nature, local organic food, and pristine air.
The program offers an extremely rich range of disciplines:
Sport and Movement
Participants can engage in surfing, paddle boarding, kitesurfing, snorkeling, swimming, sailing, non-contact boxing, Nordic Walking, cycling, Pilates, archery, and hiking.
Art and Creativity
Proposed activities include painting, underwater painting, cooking, theater, dance, biodanza, music, and singing.
Complementary and Classical Holistic Rehabilitative Therapies
The journey includes psychomotricity, physiotherapy, osteopathy, Shiatsu, art therapy, Qi Gong, craniosacral therapy, acupuncture, speech therapy, hydrokinesitherapy, music therapy, Mindfulness, bioenergetics, reiki, holistic nutrition, and horticultural therapy.
Short and Long-Term Benefits
This person-centered approach based on integrated transdisciplinarity has led to concrete and significant improvements in the quality of life of both people with Parkinson’s and their families. The benefits obtained in the short, medium, and long term are constantly monitored through clinical controls, self-assessments, and standardized tests. The positive results of this method and protocol have earned the program important international recognition, with dedicated research presented in contexts of global importance such as the WPC2026.
Poster presented at the World Parkinson Congress in Phoenix (WPC2026)
