Fitness Platform BurnAlong Offering Free Classes to Raise Awareness for World Parkinson’s Day

BurnAlong, an exercise and wellness platform, is inviting Parkinson’s disease patients, caregivers, family members, and advocates to join a special awareness day and participate in free online fitness classes.

In connection with World Parkinson’s Day on April 11, BurnAlong, together with its partners, is offering a free membership for the month of April to raise awareness of the importance of exercise for Parkinson’s patients.

“We are excited about the ability to enable anyone anywhere affected by Parkinson disease to exercise. Together, we can improve the health of those with the disease and perhaps even prevent it,” Ray Dorsey, MD, David M. Levy Professor of Neurology and director of the Center for Health + Technology at the University of Rochester, said in a press release.

The online platform offers hundreds of classes at all fitness levels, including classes specifically geared toward individuals with Parkinson’s at various stages of the disease.

Classes can be accessed through a smartphone, tablet, or computer, and friends or family can be invited to join in private sessions with the opportunity to share the experience live.

Exercise has been shown to help improve some Parkinson’s symptoms and even delay symptom onset. BurnAlong believes that having the ability to exercise when they want, where they want, and with whom they want through online video fitness classes could motivate these patients to exercise more.

Parkinson’s patients are known to be at a higher risk of falling due to changes in the brain caused by the disease. Studies have found that exercise may help prevent falls, and researchers believe that, in combination with new medicines, exercise could significantly benefit Parkinson’s patients.

For example, one study showed that tai chi, a low-impact Chinese martial art, could help Parkinson’s patients improve balance and prevent falls. Routines that strengthen the lower limbs were also found to be helpful as well as balance-boosting exercises, such as yoga or pilates.

“BurnAlong was created because our founding team all had family members with different health challenges and for whom exercising, and the motivation to exercise, would have made a big difference. Driving awareness of the importance of exercising for those with Parkinson’s is core to our mission, and we’re grateful to be working with such great partners,” said Daniel Freedman, co-founder of BurnAlong.