My fighters and dancers often comment on how good they feel after our classes, and their family members notice that their mood is so much better on the days they attend. This isn’t true just for people with Parkinson’s, but with all of our group classes! It’s a fact, people who work out together are getting more bang for their buck.

Why? Because they are getting the physical benefit of the exercise for their bodies AND a psychological boost for their brain!

It breaks my heart to hear someone with PD say, “I’m getting plenty of exercise. I lift weights, ride my indoor/outdoor bike, and I walk every day.”

Do you hear what I hear?? “I have PD. I am choosing to go it alone, and hope what I am doing is right”.  

If you are working out in your home gym or just walking because those options are cheaper than going to a Parkinson’s group exercise class, you are choosing an expensive, high-risk way to exercise. Those are good options when you are traveling or on your days off from class (we’ll call it homework), but we highly recommend joining a class with professional instruction as your primary routine.

At one of our recent happy hours some of the fighters and I were discussing the benefits of nutritional aromatics (spices) and Parkinson’s disease. For example, there is scientific data to suggest that cinnamon seems to stop the progression of PD in mice. Unfortunately, the research showed no evidence that it slowed down PD in humans, but cinnamon is still a great antioxidant to add to food. For now, just keep the cinnamon on your spice rack instead of in your medicine cabinet. 

Toward the end of our happy hour discussion we were commenting on how good cinnamon rolls smell. It wasn’t long before we were talking about the Scottish woman who can smell Parkinson’s disease. This retired nurse, Joy Milne from Scotland, smelled a strong musky smell on her husband 10 years before his Parkinson’s diagnosis.

As an exercise physiologist and corrective movement specialist, I specialize in assisting people over 40, and my focus is (as you already know) Parkinson’s disease. I have many orthopedic clients that don’t have PD, but I see similar issues with postural malalignment. I love my personal clients because I can really get into the issues with their tissue.

Today we will address forward rounding and poor posture. I’m going to focus on PD because it is like accelerating aging. Stooped posture can cause serious stress on the joints resulting in neck, back, and jaw pain. It also creates a huge risk for falling as the body tries to “catch up” with the momentum of the forward flexing of the spine. 

As you may already know, I am a huge advocate of rhythm and dance for improving many of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. I feel so strongly about it that I built a dance studio in my boxing gym so that my students could address their symptoms in every proven effective way. We even have the PD Rebel Performance Project, a performing dance, drumming and singing company to encourage those who want to share their gifts (some from the past and some newly learned) with the world.  

A variety of studies show mounting evidence that music and dance have positive effects on Parkinson’s symptoms (both motor and non-motor). There is also a strong connection between music and the dopamine systems in the brain.

It’s always fun having my long-time colleagues in the Rebel Fit Club. I respect their knowledge and experience so much. Like myself, they are convinced that people need to move correctly to get out of pain, regardless of Parkinson’s. My friend Connie Bear (a Titlist Performance Institute Certified Trainer) came to the gym to train one of my fighters. Calling her a “trainer” isn’t doing her experience and expertise justice. Connie is a biomechanical corrective movement therapist.

What she does is not limited to golf… it’s about moving right. Like my own clients, Connie’s clients start with her because they have pain and their quality of life has diminished. Our clients stay with us (some for over 20 years now) because we keep them pain free and they are able to continue traveling and enjoying life.

You’re probably thinking, “I exercise to get my heart rate up, and I lift weights… I’m good.” That is good. However, if you aren’t moving correctly, all of the exercise in the world isn’t going to take away that pain or relieve those tight muscles. If your hips aren’t balanced/flexors tights/glutes weak or not firing, then you have a movement issue and the pain will continue until you get this corrected through retraining.