Whether you have Parkinson’s or arthritis, if your hands become stiff, every task takes longer, and it really affects your quality of life.

A fighter came to me during class and said, “Kimberly, my hand is starting to curl up, and it’s getting harder to open it.” I noticed his thumb joint was curling inward. This can be a common problem with Parkinson’s. Fortunately, there are exercises you can do every day to counteract the tightening of the palm side and strengthen the back extensor muscles so that you can open your hand more easily.

When you have Parkinson’s, it’s easy to let your symptoms tell you that today is not a good day to exercise and let apathy set in. The truth is, every day you can do something and get over that hump or hurdle that stands between you and your workout. Even if it’s an injury, you can modify your workout, but getting started is a mental game.

People with Parkinson’s often develop stooped posture because of the neurological forward pulling and muscle tightening of the chest and shoulders. As a result, the back muscles become weak, and the shoulder blades become fixed and displaced. This whole process causes pain, breathing and swallowing difficulty, and balance issues.

Getting the news that you have Parkinson’s may be the scariest thing you’ve ever experienced. All the emotions come to the surface.

When I evaluate a new fighter for our boxing program, that is my time to learn more about them. I try to reassure them that this is not a death sentence, but you do have to think about your health in many different ways. You will have to train harder than you ever have before, optimize your nutrition and improve your gut health, manage your stress, and work on your cognition and balance.

So often when a person travels, has an illness or surgery, or experiences a family crisis, they take a little time off, intending to get back to class once things settle. But when their routine breaks and time goes by, apathy can set in. Apathy is a lack of motivation and interest in general. It’s not laziness, but rather a neurological symptom that can happen with PD. The biggest problem is it often keeps a person from attending their exercise classes. Targeted exercise classes are instrumental in slowing down the progression of Parkinson’s, but you must get to class and do the work, or your progression will happen faster.