New Exercise Program Can Delay Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease

A new exercise program has been designed to delay the hindering effects of Parkinson’s disease. A gym in Columbus, Ohio is helping Parkinson’s sufferers beat symptoms, which include tremors and difficulty walking and walking, with a program called Delay The Disease. “Let’s just say for a short gait, you see that stooped posture, practice with a longer stride and erect posture, and you get better at it, so the brain figures it out,” said David Zid, the designer of the exercise program. Research has shown that exercise can help Parkinson’s patients both delay and lessen their symptoms. Zid says the programs helps remind the brain how to perform everyday movements, like walking and talking. http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/09/leo/intlblogday/forum/read.php?1,2274

The program uses strength training to help ease tremors, but is in no way meant to replace medical treatment. “We’ve had people get rid of their wheelchairs, walkers [and] canes,” Zid said. Kathy Cooper was diagnosed with Parkinson’s almost a decade ago, and has found a way to fight certain aspects of the disease through the exercise program. “I was not going to lay down and take it. I was going to do something about it,” Cooper said, adding that she had trouble getting out of her car and walking. “At the rate I was going, I was gonna be in a wheelchair, and my husband is convinced I’d be dead.” - See more at:http://uchem.berkeley.edu/forum/read.php?26,500745