Parkinsons – Rebel Fit Club

How Did April And Tulips Become The Symbol For Parkinson’s Disease?

Posted on April 1, 2024April 1, 2024 by Landtiser

It is April, which marks Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month, and I proudly wear my tulip pin every day. However, I still have so many people (with and without Parkinson’s) ask me what my pin symbolizes. I wanted to write this blog to ensure that my readers are among the people who can explain the story behind the Parkinson’s Tulip.
World Parkinson’s Day was instituted on April 11th, 1997 to commemorate the birthday of Dr. James Parkinson, the man who first formally identified the disease in 1817 (over 200 years ago!) in his work “An Essay on the Shaking Palsy.”

How to Use Your Noodle to Improve Parkinson’s Upper Back Rotation

Posted on March 15, 2024March 15, 2024 by Landtiser

With Parkinson’s disease, the upper back gets really rigid and stiff. This rigidity, compounded by forward rounding, prevents it from rotating correctly. As a result, the lower back (designed to stabilize, not rotate) must take over, leading to lower back pain. Using pool noodles, this seated exercise can help treat upper back rotation.

Improve Parkinson’s Stiff Back and Eye-Tracking Issues With This Seated Noodle Exercise

Posted on March 11, 2024March 11, 2024 by Landtiser

With Parkinson’s disease, the rib cage gets stiff and flexes forward, causing a lack of rotation in the spine. This stiffness, compounded by the “lats” (the muscles in your back that attach to your arms) getting tethered down, causes difficulty when reaching and straightening your arms. When you can’t rotate in your upper back (thoracic spine), your body will start to compensate by rotating and extending parts of your body that are not meant to rotate. This almost always results in shoulder or back pain.

Furthermore, the eyes may have difficulty tracking a moving or stationary object or finding the next line in a book when reading.

How to Use Balls to Release Tight Parkinson’s Hip Flexors

Posted on August 11, 2023August 12, 2023 by Landtiser

Tight hip flexors are a huge problem for people with Parkinson’s disease. Many of my fighters complain of hip and back issues that stem from tight psoas and other hip flexor muscles.

Beginner Hip Flexor Stretch for Parkinson’s

Posted on July 1, 2023July 1, 2023 by Landtiser

My clients ask for an easy stretch they can do in the morning or evening that will help with the rounding forward posture and back pain Parkinson’s disease can cause. It’s very common so I started doing this exercise with all my private clients and integrating it into my boxing classes. It’s easy and gets to those pesky psoas muscles that get overly tight especially on people with PD.