Can Exercise Help Manage Parkinson's Disease?

What is Parkinson Disease and how does it work?

Parkinson's disease is a neurological (brain) condition that can affect the body in a number of ways. Parkinson's disease occurs when the brain no longer produces a chemical called Dopamine. Dopamine is a hormone and neurotransmitter (or chemical messenger) that plays a number of important roles in the body such as assisting with movement, mood, cognition, and behaviour. In individuals with Parkinson's the cells responsible for producing Dopamine and those that receive it begin to perish, leading to a dopamine deficiency. This can lead to symptoms such  as difficulty with movement, tremor, mood, or behaviour changes. 

What effects does it Have?

Parkinsons can affect the body in different ways however no two people are alike. Symptoms can be classed into motor and non-motor and can include the following;

Motor Symptoms:

• Slow movement

• Reduced scale of movement

• Shaking or tremor

• Rigidity of movement

• Freezing

• Ataxia (lack of coordination)

Non- motor symptoms

• Depression

• Apathy

• Insomnia or sleep disturbance

• Anxiety

• Cognitive impairment 

Parkinson's disease can be further classified into three main types however people may experience symptoms across categories. These categories are;

• Bradykinesic

  • Reduced speed of movement (slow)

  • Reduced scale of movement

  • Difficulty initiating movement 

• Tremor Dominant

  • Shaking

  • Rigidity

• Agility Impaired 

Knowing what category or categories your symptoms fall in to can help with selecting the most effective exercises for you. 

Can exercise help? 

Medication (such as levodopa) and deep brain stimulation are commonly used treatments for Parkinsons.  While these help to manage symptoms they are not able to slow disease progression, Latest evidence shows that exercise, when correctly done, is the only proven way to slow your PD progression and reduce the onset of new symptoms when paired with other common treatments.

This works in 3 main ways: 

Neuroplasticity - Regular exercise increases the brain’s ability to begin to re-wire itself and create new neural pathways to help work around the ones that may have been damaged.

Neuroprotection - Helping the brain to protect itself. This can result in increased time on lower level therapy or medication dose, and prevent the onset of new symptoms.  

Neurorestoration - Exercise helps to increase the body's production of proteins that work in the brain to assist with the creation of new brain cells, synapse production, and can increase cell survival. 

Put simply Medication + Exercise = best symptom management and best quality of life = keeping you doing the things you love!

What is the Best Way to Exercise?

There are a number of factors that need to be considered when deciding what exercises are best for you and how to do them. These include your current capacity, level of fitness, and your balance as well as your particular goals and symptoms. 

Across the board, to get best results, your training program must be;

• High effort/ challenging

• Frequent

• Powerful

This is to make sure we are providing the body with challenges it needs to drive the processes of neuroplasticity, protection, and restoration. 

Along with this, it must also be;

• Task-specific

• Impairment specific

This is to ensure you are getting benefits directly related to your symptoms and your goals. 

We also take into account the principles of

• Movement initiation

• Forced use

• Aptitude and scale of movement

• Balance and falls prevention 

This to make sure we are getting holistic improvements, targeting your weak spots, and preventing further symptom onset. 

Your exercise program will be specific to you and can be done either on your own or with a group or a combination of both!

If you or someone you know could benefit from targeted exercise to manage their Parkinsons or would like to learn more, feel free to get in touch and we would love to help you.