September 2, 2021
Page 15
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The good fight...
By Marcus Hoffman
Battling Parkinson’s with boxing Russ Agreen, a local with Parkinson, uses the Rock Steady boxing class as part of his treatment. Charlene Hawkins, one of the many volunteers, hold focus mitts for Russ when they were doing therapy pre-COVID.
Causes and Risk Factors for Parkinson’s The cause of Parkinson’s is unknown, though there are a variety of risk factors associated with developing Parkinson’s. There is a moderate association between the development of Parkinson’s and pesticide exposure and head injury. The strongest risk factor is genetics, with 15 percent of people who develop Parkinson’s having an immediate family member diagnosed with the disease. The risk of developing Parkinson’s is actually lower in people who smoke cigarettes and drink caffeine. Over 100 million dollars is spent on Parkinson’s research every year, with the hope of better understanding the cause of the disease and potentially finding a cure.
Lyn Sutton has always been passionate about exercise. For nearly 25 years, she has been a personal trainer here on the Shore. Nine years ago, her father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and she immediately began to learn more about the condition. Like many others, Lyn associated Parkinson’s with tremors. When she first heard her father had Parkinson’s, she thought of people like Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali. She would discover that it presented in many more ways than she could ever imagined. Parkinson’s is an incurable neurodegenerative disease that has the potential to affect a variety of physical and mental functions. Problems associated with Parkinson’s include difficulty walking, sleep problems, vision problems, mental health issues and more. The disease is also progressive, with the issues associated with Parkinson’s generally growing worse over time. The medications available provide only short term relief, doing nothing to slow the progression of the disease itself. Lyn wanted to do anything she could to help her father feel better and possibly even slow the progression of Parkinson’s. As a personal trainer Lyn has always believed that exercise has the potential to help everyone… sick and healthy… and she knew that exercise had the potential to help her father. After doing some research, she discovered the Rock Steady Boxing Program. Rock Steady is an evidence-based program that uses non-contact shadow boxing to help slow the progression of Parkinson’s. Lyn applied to the waiting list to become certified, and after a few years of waiting, was eventually able to start running her own Rock Steady classes right here on the Shore. While studies have found that exercise in general is beneficial for those with Parkinson’s, Rock Steady’s boxing program has specific benefits. The exercise involves heavy amounts of multitasking, which helps with the neurodegenerative roots of Parkinson’s. Not only has Lyn seen Rock Steady slow the progression of Parkinson’s in people like her father, for some it can even reverse some of the effects of the disease. “I’ve seen people come to class with walkers,” she explained to me, “and forget about it and leave their walker there on the wait out.” Rock Steady also provides benefits for some of the more unconventional issues associated with Parkinson’s. The class involves shouting and vocalizing, which helps with the verbal issues that sometimes come with Parkinson’s. The class also aids with what Lyn calls the social aspect of Parkinson’s. “As time goes on, their world starts to shrink. They don’t go out to lunch; they have low self esteem; and, they become a bit fearful. Many of them want to hide it.” Through Rock Steady, the participants become part of a community.
Local shares his story...