Editor,

Eight months ago I learned I have Parkinson’s disease (PD), a neurodegenerative condition in which brain cells that control movement begin to die. It’s a progressive disorder that makes it hard to walk, talk, balance and move. Approximately 60,000 Americans are diagnosed each year. The cause isn’t known, and currently there’s no cure.

So what can people with Parkinson’s (PwP) do if they’d rather fight than lie down and accept becoming gradually disabled? Some studies support the idea that intense exercise increases neuroplasticity in the brain. In other words, it keeps brain cells healthy. Non-contact boxing training is a nontraditional form of exercise recently used by some PwP. Exercises based on boxing drills enhance specific physical abilities that tend to become lost with PD.

Boxing requires a diversity of movement in all planes of motion while continuously adjusting for changes in the routine during a workout. Boxers work to improve balance, mental focus, agility, hand-eye coordination, speed, endurance and strength; things that benefit everyone as their bodies mature, but with which PwP especially tend to struggle. Recent studies have shown that with boxing training, anyone, at any level of PD, can actually lessen their symptoms and lead healthier lives.

So I could hardly believe my good fortune on learning that I could participate in this kind of boxing program very close to home. Boxing fitness classes for PwPs are now offered twice weekly at Solid Stone Boxing Gym at Ken’s Korner in Clinton. Taught by the gym’s inspirational founder-owner and professional boxer Dakota Stone and supported by trainer-coaches Lauren Coleman and Donna Parcell, these special classes are assisted by Sue Taves, a physical therapist at Lone Lake Physical Therapy.

Supported by motivating coaches who “know the ropes,” and the camaraderie of classmates, more than a dozen local PwPs like me are now fighting back and beginning to realize that although we have Parkinson’s, Parkinson’s doesn’t have us!

And the health benefits of non-contact boxing training for seniors are not just for PwP. Any woman or man over 55 with the desire to improve their general level of fitness is invited to enroll in Solid Stone’s new “Golden Gloves” program.

Come check us out at Solid Stone Boxing Gym in Clinton (360-321-2292).

STEVE BURR

Clinton