Boxing for Parkinsons

[rjpinette]

My husband went to a free 1 hr class for Parkinson's patients last week and it was awesome!! It's a class at a boxing gym and there were 7 people there, 5 men and 2 women. They all had various stages of PD BUT they were unbelievable. They were light on their feet and their boxing was great. My husband's first time so he was slow and methodical but did well and loved it. He's going to join the class, at $10 a lesson and a pair of boxing gloves. Keep posted we'll see how this works out. His neuro dr. suggested this exercise a while ago and now we are doing it. He was hesitant but I called and found out about it and the free class to try it out. Wish him luck!!

[laglag]

I've been doing Rock Steady Boxing since it started 11 yrs ago, it is an awesome program in many ways. Not sure if your husband's program is RSB, but tell him to keep fighting!

[Michael1953 in reply to laglag]

Rock Steady Boxing. We love it in the US

[JohnPepper]

Boxing is a 'Consciously' controlled movement and ALL PD PATIENTS ARE ABLE TO DO CONSCIOUS MOVEMENT! Our problem is with the movements we control subconsciously, like walking and bringing food to our mouth and writing. We have to learn how to do those movements 'CONSCIOUSLY'

[laglag in reply to JohnPepper]

John,

We also do walking, running, weights, jump rope and skipping. The coaches do things according to your level. PwP's help each other sometimes. We also do exercises for the voice and, we work on fine motor skills, like puzzles and putting on and taking off washers on a screw. We dance, throw frisbee, and we play beachball vollyball and beachball hockey using those swimming pool float sticks (can't remember what they're called). We motivate each other and have a lot of fun but we are working our buns off at the same time. I know it's not for everyone, but you should try it sometime, you might like it.😳

[JohnPepper in reply to laglag]

Wonderful! Are you aware that when you do FAST WALKING for one hour, three times a week, on alternate days, the brain produces a natural protein called GDNF (Glial Derived Neurotrophic Factor), which, as the name implies, repairs the damaged brain cells, thus giving us more natural dopamine and reduced Pd symptoms. Glial cells are the policemen in that are of the brain. Neurotrophic means nerve repair/production.

All exercise is GOOD for us, but few produce the GDNF. I get nothing out of you doing fast walking, so why do I bother to tell everybody this? That is the only way I know to encourage people to start reversing their Pd symptoms!

[PDConscience in reply to JohnPepper]

JP... You've been around long enough to absorb the fact that ALL vigorous exercise produces token amounts of GDNF, while NONE produce enough to "Reverse Parkinson's Disease" - whether "conscious" or not. Continuing to pretend fast-walking is superior to other forms of exercise in this regard is pure fiction and helps no one.

[Tribselyov in reply to PDConscience]

agree.. walking is just easy to incorporate... another plus if done in group or competition (like Fitbit monitoring among members of Club Parkee.......anyone interested? Yesterday I got my 10,963 steps with the last 500 via "shadow boxing)

[JohnPepper in reply to PDConscience]

You obviously don't read everything I post, or you like to ignore the things that don't suit you.

For the first two years after diagnosis in 1992, I went to the gym for 90 minutes every day, other than Sundays. I did aerobic exercises for 60 minutes and weights for 30 minutes. I watched my performance get worse at a much quicker rate during those two years than had been the case previously. How do I know? The settings on the machines had to be turned down much more quickly than previously. The piles of weights on the machines got much smaller and more quickly.

So why did my performance at walking improve after gave up going to the gym? Why did my symptoms start getting better, and after 4 years had almost disappeared?

Maybe you will come up with some cock-eyed idea.

[haugenk]

Good luck to your husband. I have 🐝 ‘n boxing for six months now. No miracle cure, but OK.

[rjpinette]

From what I have been reading over the course of my husband's journey down PD lane, ALL exercise of any kind helps - MOVEMENT is what PD patients need period. Granted fast walking is probably a very good thing but have to get motivated to do that. Every step is a step in the right direction. Wish everyone well in this path.

[Hikoi in reply to rjpinette]

Yes I would agree with you. Exercise is crucial but there is absolutely no proof that fast walking produces GDNF when some other forms of exercise dont. Nor is anyone documented to have reversed their pd following JP’s method in the many years he has been promoting it.

In the videos the ‘miracle’ walkers are being physically guided. I know my walking is better when i am assisted or guided by another and rhythm and encouragement has a marked positive effect. This approach is also used by physio’s with very similar results.

i do boxing too, its quite a work out!

[CASEY9534 in reply to Hikoi]

Just had first boxing class at, I believe the only class for PWP in NL Scotland. I really enjoyed it. Go walking too. Anything that involves moving rather than sitting has to be good for us.

[JohnPepper]

When something happens for the first time, there are no previous records of that, so how can there be any proof of what happened. It would be so much more worthwhile investigating what happened, instead of trying to squash it and tear it apart and get no value out of it at all. What has happened to me is important and is of great interest to all Pd sufferers.

It may turn out, after thorough examination, to only work with a few patients and not with others. But a few patients is an incredible result. After all, there has not been any record of a Pd patient getting better taking medication!

The cost of doing a study on fast walking would be a fraction of the cost of finding an elusive medication to reverse the symptoms of Pd. The only problem with that is that nobody would make any money out of the result of that study. But maybe millions of Pd patients would become a lot better off with the knowledge of the results of that study!

So carry on being negative and destructive, you will be lauded by all those people with vested interests, while Pd patients will still be praying for that elusive cure we are so desperate to find.