{"id":20798,"date":"2017-09-01T08:30:59","date_gmt":"2017-09-01T15:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medicalfitnessnetwork.org\/public\/?p=20798"},"modified":"2017-08-03T08:46:23","modified_gmt":"2017-08-03T15:46:23","slug":"exercise-medicine-people-parkinsons-isnt-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/all-mfn\/exercise-medicine-people-parkinsons-isnt-everyone\/","title":{"rendered":"If Exercise is Medicine for People with Parkinson\u2019s, Why Isn\u2019t Everyone Doing It?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The three national thought leaders presenting at the Annual Parkinson\u2019s Symposium in 2015 were all in passionate agreement: exercise is imperative in treating the symptoms of Parkinson\u2019s disease. We have cultivated and grown many Parkinson\u2019s-specific exercise programs in Sarasota County, from spin classes to yoga<\/a>, at levels appropriate for all stages of the disease. In addition, exercise is the only know treatment modality with 100% positive side effects!<\/p>\n

So why isn\u2019t everyone doing it?<\/p>\n

As a Care Advisor and Health Coach, I am continually striving to understand what motivates or inhibits people from exercising. Why are some in our Parkinson\u2019s community committed exercise enthusiasts, while others seem to come up with innumerable reasons why they can\u2019t participate in physical activities?<\/p>\n

I believe a core reason may be what the American Council of Exercise refers to as the concern for \u201cpsychological safety.\u201d If someone has Parkinson\u2019s, that person may believe that participating in exercise is dangerous. A fear of falling, freezing of gait, or muscle stiffness preventing completion of an exercise class may prevent a potential exerciser from starting a program that could help reduce all these symptoms.<\/p>\n

People with Parkinson\u2019s may also have heightened feelings of self-consciousness, and may fear embarrassment while participating in a class setting. Gyms can be intimidating, and often it is difficult to know where to start. Even the most structured and supervised exercise classes have some levels of unpredictability.<\/p>\n

\"\"Another concern people with neuro-degenerative diseases face is coming to terms with diminished physical abilities. If a person with Parkinson\u2019s has had an active and athletic past, it may be difficult to acknowledge what the body can no longer do. Seeing others at later stages of Parkinson\u2019s may dissuade someone from attending an exercise group that could slow down the progression of the disease.<\/p>\n

So how can we address these concerns? Those with Parkinson\u2019s first need to know that they are not alone, that there are many people fighting this disease with exercise and are having fun <\/em>doing it. Finding a safe and effective exercise class with qualified professionals<\/a> in a supportive environment is the next step. Often times it is less intimidating to attend an exercise class with a spouse or friend, and always know that if you are new to exercise, you will always be encouraged to go at your own pace until you become more confident in your abilities. Finally, not only do regular exercisers have fun and empower themselves with the ability to help diminish their Parkinson\u2019s symptoms \u2013 they become stronger in body, attitude and spirit. Be a Parkinson\u2019s fighter.<\/p>\n

\n

Carisa Campanella, BA, AS, is an ACE Health Coach and ACSM Personal Trainer. She is the Program Manager at the Neuro Challenge Foundation for Parkinson\u2019s<\/a>. Neuro Challenge provides ongoing monthly support groups and educational programs, individualized care advising and community resource referrals to help empower people with Parkinson\u2019s and their caregivers.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The three national thought leaders presenting at the Annual Parkinson\u2019s Symposium in 2015 were all in passionate agreement: exercise is imperative in treating the symptoms of Parkinson\u2019s disease. We have cultivated and grown many Parkinson\u2019s-specific exercise programs in Sarasota County, from spin classes to yoga, at levels appropriate for all stages of the disease. In addition, exercise is the only know treatment modality with 100% positive side effects! So why isn\u2019t everyone doing it? As a Care Advisor and Health Coach, I am continually striving to understand what motivates or inhibits people from exercising. Why are some in our Parkinson\u2019s community committed exercise enthusiasts, while others seem to come up with innumerable reasons why they can\u2019t participate in physical activities? I believe a core reason may be what the American Council of Exercise refers to as the concern for \u201cpsychological safety.\u201d If someone has Parkinson\u2019s, that person may believe that participating in exercise is dangerous. A fear of falling, freezing of gait, or muscle stiffness preventing completion of an exercise class may prevent a potential exerciser from starting a program that could help reduce all these symptoms. People with Parkinson\u2019s may also have heightened feelings of self-consciousness, and may fear […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":211,"featured_media":9875,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[134,198,92],"class_list":["post-20798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-mfn","tag-fitness","tag-fitness-professionals","tag-parkinsons"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/211"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20798\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}