Recently there has been some promising research done by the Yale School of Medicine regarding PD. It’s been known for quite some time that exercise slows the progression of PD, however this new study on high intensity exercise for PD has shown that it cannot only slow down, but to some degree reverse the neurodegenerative effects early on in the disease. This was a 6-month study including 10 participants who had all been recently diagnosed with PD within the last 4 years. All participants underwent a brain PET scan and MRI to measure the areas of the brain that produce and transport dopamine to get a baseline. After the scans were completed, all participants underwent 6 months of consistent, twice a week high intensity exercises classes where the goal was to increase their heart rate to 70-80% of their maximum heart rate for a majority of the class.
After this 6-month period, all participants underwent the same brain scans as before and to the surprise of researchers, not only did they see a slowdown in the expected degeneration of these areas of the brain, but there was an increase in their abilities to not only produce, but transport and uptake dopamine. This means we have the power to reverse the symptoms early on in the disease, giving people more time symptom free.
Even though this was a small sample size with individuals who were recently diagnosed, it further confirms the importance of exercise and fighting this disease. This makes me very excited to see further research on not only bigger sample sizes, but also to see what effects exercise has on people who have had the disease for longer periods of time. I’d also love to see different exercise methods such as strength training, mobility training, and flexibility training studied as well.
How do you know if you are working at 70-80% of your maximum heart rate? A simple way of calculating your maximum heart rate is to take 220 and subtract your age (if you are 60 years old 220-60=160, you then multiply 160 x 0.7 to calculate 70% of your max and 160 x 0.8 to calculate 80% of your max). In this example a 60yr old individual would want to work between 112 and 128 beats per minute. Another way to know if you are in that zone without math is to feel as if you’re not gasping for air, but it would be difficult to carry on a conversation without deep breaths between sentences. So, in a nutshell, I would highly recommend people up their cardio intensity on a regular basis to prolong/reverse the symptoms of PD for as long as possible!
When we look at longevity predictors, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that strength and muscle mass are proven to give you a better chance of living a longer life and decreasing all-cause mortality risk factors. When we enter our 30’s and 40’s we begin to lose muscle mass at a rate of up to 8% per decade and it unfortunately speeds up after the age of 60. This means by the time we hit 80 years old we may have less than half the muscle we had when we were in our 30s. This loss of muscle as we age is called sarcopenia.
Another thing that happens when we lose muscle mass as we age is we spend a larger percentage of our day in sedentary positions; we get outside less, sit more, and overall spend less time moving. The human body is incredible at adapting to what we put it through, but if we spend a lot of time sitting, it adapts to that position. Our hips and knees spend more time in a flexed position, our upper spine spends more time in a hunched forward position, and it gets increasingly difficult to get out of those positions. As our muscles spend more time in shortened positions and get tighter and weaker, our brain’s ability to recruit those muscles also trends in the wrong direction. So, when we lose our balance, we can no longer quickly react and send the signals we need to stop the fall from occurring. The injuries people have due to falls are often the last straw when it comes to ever moving without fear and leads to a speeding up of the aging process. Essentially, as exercise experts training people in this demographic, we are in a battle to fight off these limitations in movement, strength, and balance.
As a Strength and Conditioning Specialist, my job is to analyze the sport my client participates in, look at the movements involved with the sport, figure out which muscles are involved with those movements, and create a plan for increasing the strength, endurance, power, and size of those muscles so they can improve their performance. As Ortho-Kinetic® Professional Trainers, we look at deviations in posture, limitations, and asymmetries in range of motion of all major joints and devise a program to rebalance and regain full control over these limitations so that potential injury risks go down as we adapt to strengthening our clients’ biggest imbalances and needs.
If you or someone you know has PD, major balance issues, or just wants a helping hand in figuring out what your biggest needs are, I highly recommend doing an Ortho-Kinetics® Assessment with one of the trainers on our team here at Island Fitness. We want every member’s time spent here to be as productive and efficient as possible. I can tell you that the assessment process is very thorough, and you will learn a lot about your body and its biggest needs. Whether you need help with Parkinson’s specific exercises or just want help learning how to improve your balance, mobility, flexibility, strength, endurance, or power, we have trainers here to help with all of it.
It’s never too late to improve your physical abilities, and if you want to live longer and improve your quality of life, you have a great resource here in the trainers at Island Fitness.
Quinton Agosta
- Ortho-Kinetics® Professional Trainer
- Parkinson’s Disease Specialist Trainer
- B.S. Exercise Science, Central Washington University
- Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist NSCA
There are several ways to participate in Parkinson’s Awareness Month:
- Learn and Share: Educate yourself about Parkinson’s Disease and share this knowledge with others.
- Support Research: Donate to organizations conducting research on Parkinson’s disease. Michael J. Fox Organization and Parkinson’s Foundation
- Start Moving: Try Punch Out Parkinson’s class a.k.a. POP at Island Fitness with Quinton Agosta.
- Participate in Events: Join walks, runs, or other events organized to raise awareness and funds.
- Advocate: Advocate for policies and programs that benefit the Parkinson’s community.
- Volunteer: Offer your time and skills to local Parkinson’s support groups/events. Parkinson’s Peer Support Group at Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center.
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