Exercise as Medicine

By Mike Sellars. Parkie, RSB affiliate, coach and boxer. Boxers with Parkinson's founder.
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You may have heard someone say that exercise is to Parkinson's as insulin is to diabetes.

BwP members believe this is true. We believe that regular doses of boxing as exercise therapy can reduce, reverse or delay the symptoms of Parkinson's. The BwP research project is designed to analyze the effectiveness of exercise as Parkinson's therapy over hundreds or even thousands of study participants over the long term. We are already learning a lot about the relationship between exercise and Parkinson's.

On her website, Clare McLean of Rogue Physical Therapy and Wellness in Orange County, CA says exercise should be recommended the way medication is prescribed:

Indication: What type of exercise is needed to improve the symptom/problem?
Dosage: How much exercise is the right amount, how intense?
Frequency: How often should the treatment be administered?
Duration: If this a short term treatment or a lifestyle change?

Whether we are talking exercise or insulin, if you don't take your medicine, you are fighting a serious battle defenseless... without armor and without weapons If you get your daily dose of exercise medication, you get out what you put in. The bigger the spoon the better. The stronger the dose the better. Of course, Parkinson's is a degenerative disease and at some point each Parkinson's sufferer will reach a point of diminishing returns. The hope for each person fighting Parkinson's is that they can fight the disease slowing symptoms progression as graciously as possible for as long as possible. That they fight each symptom to slow its impact on their quality of life. EiW!

EiW! is the BwP fight song. It stands for Even is Winning. It goes something like this. Sing along.

A 71 year old man with Parkinson's (me) gets up on New Year's Day and takes stock of his physical and mental condition. I make a resolution, a commitment to myself and my family, to do everything possible to greet next New Year's Eve in as good a shape or even better than I am today. Aging will fight me. This degenerative disease will attack me. My strategy is to fight back by taking my dose of exercise medication every day. My goal for this year is to stay even. Because Even is Winning. EiW!

For coaches who are young so aging is far in the future and don't have Parkinson's, a degenerative disease, the concept of staying even doesn't occur to them. They think their job is to make us better, stronger. When new Boxers join the program, the first 3 months they experience amazing strides with improved fitness, conditioning, and possibly mobility or balance.

In the BwP study, the average age is over 70. I can only run the 100-meter sprint so fast. Over the long term, natural declines from aging are to be expected. Give us a degenerative disease like Parkinson's and we are facing double declines. Double declines require a double commitment and double the work.

So, am I winning? The BwP Boxer Assessment Report keeps score for me. Line by line assessment comparisons, easy-to-understand scoring, and the all new TWET interactive exercise planner. I know I'm winning.

However, when coaches used to seeing steady and significant improvements in their 30-something clients don't see the same long term improvements in their 70+ year old Parkinson's clients, they feel like they let us down. To them I say... Even is Winning! Just help us keep winning. One day at a time. EiW!