World Parkinson Coalition Teams Up with NBA Vet Brian Grant on Exercise Project

The World Parkinson Coalition (WPC) is teaming up again with the nonprofit Brian Grant Foundation (BGF), led by retired 12-year NBA power forward Brian Grant. He was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson’s disease at age 36.

The foundation is committed to empowering people impacted by Parkinson’s to help them live active and fulfilling lives, and is joining the WPC in its campaign to motivate and encourage physical activity and wellness among people with Parkinson’s disease.

Grant, who knows from his career as an elite athlete the importance of exercise and nutrition for health and wellbeing, urges all people with Parkinson’s to incorporate exercise into their daily routine to help them live life to the fullest. Plenty of peer-reviewed research support Grant’s call to action — exercise can help Parkinson’s patients better manage their disease.

The first-ever Parkinson Power Through Project: Montreal to Portland (PTP) objective is to help encourage people with Parkinson’s and others to exercise.

The project will welcome a league of individuals and teams of up to 10 people who will journey through a 10-segment route, converting physical activity into mileage. Each segment, inspired by an exercise theme specifically designed to benefit people with Parkinson’s, will offer content in an array of multimedia platforms (videos, blogs, articles, images, and cultural biographies) to motivate, entertain, and educate participants.

The Power Through Project notes that regrettably, the vast majority of the estimated 10 million people living with Parkinson’s don’t have a structured exercise program to follow, leaving them on their own to figure out how to ultimately take advantage of the benefits of the free Parkinson’s medicine: exercise.

To complete the PTP challenge, participating individuals or teams must accumulate 100 hours of physical activity and cover 3,000 virtual miles from Montreal, Canada, home of the third World Parkinson Congress (WPC) in 2013, to Portland, Oregon, Brian Grant’s adopted hometown, which will host the WPC 2016 Sept. 20-23, 2016.

The PTP journey will promote mental, physical and spiritual well-being, educate people about the realities of Parkinson’s, and connect the community with a common goal and challenge: to Power Through. To learn more, visit https://www.powerthroughproject.org.

“We are delighted that Brian Grant has joined WPC to advocate on behalf of the Parkinson’s community,” Elizabeth “Eli” Pollard, executive director of the World Parkinson Coalition, said in a press release. “Together, we further share our message with the singular goal to reach as many [people with Parkinson’s] and their care partners as possible on how exercise and health habits can counter the symptoms of this disease.”

PTP organizers also plan to lead a community PTP group “mob” workout from 11 a.m. to noon on Sept. 18 at the Rose Quarter Commons outside the WPC venue, 300 North Winning Way, Portland. Check in at 10:30 to 11 a.m. For delegates at the 4th World Parkinson Congress (WPC 2016), PTP exercise experts are hosting daily workouts in the WPC Theater (Exhibit Hall) from 11:30 to 11:45 a.m. To register, visit https://www.mobworkout.eventbrite.com.

“PTP is a terrific resource in the arsenal of information aimed to help the [Parkinson’s] community learn all they can to live as healthfully and meaningfully as possible,” Pollard said.

“The PTP gives the Parkinson’s community a culture that is similar to what I experienced during my career in the NBA,” Brian Grant said. “My teammates and I were able to overcome great odds by dedicating our commitment to a culture of support, exercise, attitude, and education. I believe these same characteristics can build a culture for the Parkinson’s community to achieve a fulfilling life with the disease. For me, PTP is the culture that our community needs to fight together, in order succeed alone.”

The nonprofit World Parkinson Coalition provides an international forum for learning about the latest scientific and medical developments related to Parkinson’s disease. It launched the first World Parkinson Congress in 2006 to provide a forum for the global Parkinson’s community to meet, network, share advances in Parkinson’s research, enhance understanding, and promote Parkinson’s advocacy worldwide.

From modest beginnings, nearly 10,000 delegates have participated in previous triennial congresses. The WPC 2016 in Portland is expected to attract about 4,000 delegates from 65 countries to learn about cutting-edge science, clinical research, and comprehensive care from some of the most renowned health professionals, researchers, and advocates in the Parkinson’s field. To learn more about the 4th World Parkinson Congress, visit https://www.wpc2016.org/.