Can Riding a Bike Reduce Parkinson’s Symptoms?

[pvw2]

My experience seems to back this up:

Can Riding a Bike Reduce Parkinson’s Symptoms?

aplaceformom.com/blog/can-r...

[jimcaster]

Thanks for sharing! I believe participants in the Cleveland Clinic study pedaled a minimum of 80 rpm for 40 minutes plus 10 minute warm up and cool down periods. I pedal 4 days a week for 2 consecutive hours at 80+ rpm. I feel great and I get to binge watch Netflix at the same time. 😊

[JoeKev in reply to jimcaster]

My hats off to you Jim. 2 hours is 2X what I do.

[pvw2 in reply to JoeKev]

But he had to finish his movie.

[jimcaster in reply to JoeKev]

Thanks! I have been inspired by many people on this site and now that I'm retired an 8 hour "work week" seems like a great use of my time. You can use the search function on this site or Google to learn a lot about exercise in general and pedaling for Parkinson's, in particular.

[Fed1000 in reply to jimcaster]

Hi Jim, congratulations for your performance. Can you tell me what average speed you can keep in kilometers per hour? Thanks

[jimcaster in reply to Fed1000]

Thanks. I go slightly faster than 15 miles per hour, which translates to 24.14 kilometers per hour. I walk around the house for a few minutes between each hour stint. I occasionally pedal as fast as i can (over 140 rpm) for a few seconds, but I generally stay between 80 and 90 rpm. It's not as intense as the 30 minutes I used to run on the treadmill, but I hope 8 hours of moderate intensity is as good as 1.5 hours of intense exercise. Toe dystonia makes running almost impossible for me.

[Kia17]

I have already shared this video in a post. I paste it here again.Worth watching.

youtu.be/7Tq9K_RoARs(Not working as expected?)

[Dehlia in reply to Kia17]

Kia. Way over my head but it would seem to a layman’s interpretation that riding a spin bike, with limited skill, pales to other aerobic challenges, say boxing that requires more skill. Thanks Joey

[Kia17 in reply to Dehlia]

Dehlia

Correct. Doing activities that need awareness ( like Yoga, Boxing,....) creat more neuroplasticity than activities like stationery cycling which we do mostly with our subconscious mind in autopilot mode.Therefore we can reduce symptoms or even recover fully from our symptoms with skill based movements that need our attention and awareness.

[jrg54321 in reply to Kia17]

I agree and argue that cycling indoors demands your attention when you are following some kind of indoor cycling or spin class. It's not passive in this case. Tesla has no autopilot for outdoor cycling yet!

[pvw2 in reply to Dehlia]

The advantage to bicycling for aerobics is it is easier on your body that basket ball, tennis, boxing and other high skill aerobics. Swimming is another aerobic exercise that is even easier on your body, but not always as readily available. For PwP it may be more practical to combine easier aerobic exercise with less aerobic such as stretching and yoga. Much of this depends on the stage of PD and other physical ailments.

[pvw2 in reply to Dehlia]

By the way, head impact sports, such as boxing and North American football, can cause PD, and are probably not good for lessening symptoms.

[PDBoxer in reply to pvw2]

In Rock Steady Boxing, created for Parkinsons patients, you do not hit or get hit on the head!! Boxing bags are used as the recipient of your punches, as well as many other beneficial techniques for exercising the brain.

[pvw2 in reply to PDBoxer]

Sounds good. Bicycling is not without risk. Now my top speed is 27mph and usually no more than 24mph. When younger my top pedaling speed was 40mph and would coast faster than that on a long hill. I use wider tires than racing tires now. My brother had a racing tire fall into a seam in the road, instantly stopping his bike, but not him. He landed on his helmet and sat on the curb stunned for a while until he got is composure back to continue on. I have scars from back then I don't plan to repeat them. By the way, my brother did have PD.

[Rlp1]

I think this is the single most important thing I do (need to get started this morning). I mostly ride outdoors approximately 75-100 miles per week; 15-18 MPH; 1-2K calories per ride. When it’s too cold or rainy, I ride indoors on a trainer (stand for my bike). I usually use Zwift (online racing program). My numbers have been steady since diagnosis in 2014. I was a dedicated cyclist before PD. So, it wasn’t hard to stay with it. I applied to the Cleveland program but wasn’t accepted. Try a cycling program and see if it helps you. I prefer to ride outdoors but indoors could be just as good.

[pvw2 in reply to Rlp1]

Parkinson’s, a Bike Crash, and a Hospitalization — Oh My!

parkinsonsnewstoday.com/202...

I've never broken any bones cycling. However, in my younger years before PD did get stitched up a few times. I'm much more careful now, and my biggest issues are when the bike isn't moving. The gears on my old bike allowed me to pedal 40 mph, now my gears top out at 25 mph and I don't want to go faster than that. Right now I go about 50 miles per week at about the same speeds as you. I'm so used to toe chips that I do better with them than without them. Old reflexes help. I had learned to stay up when sliding around a corner. Avoid that situation now, but yesterday on a turn had to go through a slimy puddle from sprinkler overflow and reflexes kept me stable for a small slide. My biggest challenges are starting and stopping; not the bike but me. I also don't have the precision I used to. On bad weather days, I set up the trainer in the garage when using it and open the garage door, so I can at least look outside.

[Rosenmu]

Dr Laurie Mischley's study shows that running is the best and Yoga is good too, Biking is lower down the list. Forgot what #2 is.

[pvw2 in reply to Rosenmu]

Did she evaluate swimming at a racing pace? Similar to the difference between walking and running.

[Rosenmu in reply to pvw2]

parkiepedia.com/exercise has the list of exercises and in order of most effective

[pvw2 in reply to Rosenmu]

"Exercise programmes for Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s Exercise programmes. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach and the important thing is to find an activity that suits you. "

[Rosenmu in reply to pvw2]

Yes, any exercise is better than none, helps to change it so you use different muscles, which is why I think yoga is good.