Movement for the parkinson patient can often require a clear, open space. An adequate rail should be installed on both sides of any stairs. If stairs in a house are a threat, an arrangement to live downstairs may reduce the number of times that the stairs must be climbed, and is a matter for individual decision. Even the presence of one step in an apartment building leading to the sidewalk can be a source of danger. Flat and level is the very best place for a person with this disease.
Ramps are fine, but stairs often constitute a difficulty.
As an added measure of safety, a carpenter should install metal or wooden handles on the walls adjacent to doorknobs of all doors. Their purpose is to afford the patient security in standing, by holding the handle on the wall with one hand, while he pulls the doorknob with the other. Moreover, some doors open all too easily and the patient may be thrown backward to the floor, if he does not have his other hand on a secure support. Patients must learn to adapt to doing only one single act at a time. This inevitably leads to a slowness in accomplishing chores, as well as frustration.