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Can exercise delay Parkinson’s progression?
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I would say yes. I have been doing one form or another of cardio exercising for over 56 years. I went from running to swimming to exercise biking, which is what I have been doing for the last 30+ years. Both my OT and PT therapists told me I am in a much better state from a PD point of view than the other clients they have who are of similar age and were diagnosed in about the same time frame.
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Beth
ERRyatry will help, but when you firdt take in morning you will shake approx. half hour. Pills only last 3 1/2 hours I take 2 pills every 4 hours. Heavy excercise will cause shaking, but it really helps fight PD. I am walking much better, more endurance, just make sure you have empty stomch at least 1 and half hours before taking med.
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I am 66 and have PD since I was 56. I have been an avid exercise enthusiast and athlete for 50 years. I have consistently exercised and or played sports (rugby, soccer, hockey, wrestling, boxing, 400m sprints, etc) throughout the past 50 years, including the 10 years I have had PD. I currently exercise 6-7 days per week (often 30-40 consecutive days without taking a day off) and am doing the same cardio and weight workouts I was doing at age 56. My weight workouts consist of 35-40 sets of dumbbells and machines 3x/week for 65 minutes. I alternate between chest/shoulders/legs/abs and arms/back/legs/abs. I use dumbbells between 17.5-50 lbs and do 1000 situps and/or crunches per week for the ab routine. On the weight days, I follow up with 55 minutes of cardio (5 minutes of rope climbing followed by 50 minutes on a stationary bike or elliptical). On the other four days I do cardio workouts exclusively — from 95 minutes to 150 minutes per day. The shortest (95 minutes) I run stairs/stadiums (currently a set of 15 stairs which I run up and down 90 times in 35 minutes). The longer 1 hour and 45 minute to 2.5 hour cardio daily workouts are weather dependent (I live at 7500′ and had 200″ of snow at my residence last year) and consist of the following routines:
1. 1 hour 45 minutes on a stationary bike or elliptical (or a combination of the two).
. 2. 2.5 hours on a mountain bike; typically riding from 7800′-8800′.
3. 2.5 hours of snowshoeing between 9500′-11,000′ or 7800′-8300′ depending on the snow pack.
My father and grandmother both had PD, and while physically active and slender, neither did intensive physical training, and at the 10-year point in their odyssey with PD both were failing at a rate that exceeds mine.
My neurologist, on my initial visit, and after advising him of my daily exercise routine, stated, without equivocation, that if I could continue to exercise at that pace, said exercise would do”do more for me” than anything he could do, or prescribe, for me.
My right arm tremors almost constantly; it actually tremors worse in the immediate aftermath of an intense workout. I take that as a good sign. It means I had a hard workout.
My own opinion is that exercise is good for everyone, but it is essential for PD patients. It resets the clock for me everyday.
As for the ‘scientific skeptics’ … I don’t think we can scientifically prove that the sun will come up again tomorrow … but I bet it does. I can’t prove that intense, robust, daily exercise slows the progress of PD … but I bet it does.
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I was diagnosed with lewy body dementia in Dec of 23. I have always exercised and had a career as a letter carrier for 34 years before retiring in 2021. I am 59 for one more month and my doctors told me that my exercising has most likely helped delay the symptoms. I do what I can but the neuropathy in my hands and feet intensifies after. I walk my dog whether I want to or not because she demands it. I am learning coping strategies but I’m scared at times.
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