Boxing helps fight Parkinson’s
Exercise class at YMCA brings people with the condition together for friendship, hope
Westerly — On Monday morning, with boxing gloves on, hair pulled back and an intent, focused look on her face, Kate Robins, 67, of Pawcatuck, was doing more than staying fit in her retirement by punching a speed bag in a basement classroom of the Westerly-Pawcatuck Branch of Ocean Community YMCA.
A year and a half after a devastating diagnosis, Robins and more than a dozen others were in the Y's Punch Back at Parkinson's class fighting against Parkinson's disease.
“I heard exercise slows the disease, which is progressive and degenerative, and I came in here and I got so much more out of it,” said Robins.
Though she and the other participants began attending to slow the progression of the disorder, they also found friendships, support and hope.
“You see people in here who are doing so well. We have one woman who was diagnosed 14 years ago and still drives,” she said, adding, “That cuts in half a lot of anxiety you have about progression.”
The woman she referred to is Suzi Storrs of Charleston, R.I. At 78, Storrs has lived with Parkinson's for almost 15 years.
“It's good for me. Any doctor or professional will tell you, it's best if you get out and move,” she said. “I can come here feeling terrible and I leave feeling better.”
The exercise helps with muscle stiffness, a common symptom of the disease that is caused by a loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain resulting in symptoms like tremors, impaired coordination and balance, difficulties with speech and writing and cognitive impacts.
“I've seen remarkable advantages,” said Janine Parkins, Health and Wellness director at the Y, of the seven-year-old class. “A lot of them talk about, when they leave class, they might be fatigued, but they have more mobility.”
Taught by Health and Wellness instructor Polly Chorlton and assistant Cameron Burr, the circuit-style class that sees up to two dozen participants every Monday and Friday, targets the needs of individuals living with Parkinson's. Boxing-related activities like ring stepping drills, punching speed bags, total resistance exercises and balance balls, participants improve not just strength, but also agility, flexibility, coordination, balance and reflexes.
‘There’s somebody else on the planet who has Parkinson’s’
Storrs also said the class helps to fend off isolation.
Westerly-area resident Hillary Bercovici, a re
tired Episcopal priest and psychotherapist, agreed. The 70-year-old, diagnosed about a year ago after five years of symptoms, said the diagnosis can bring disbelief and fear.
“If you don't have a place to take those concerns, it can feel lonely because people don't seem to get this illness in clumps — they're kind of scattered all over the place,” he said.
“A couple people, we had some common interests. We went for coffee, and started relationships, that kind of thing, and then, there's somebody else on the planet who has Parkinson's; it's not just me,” he added, explaining that their shared experiences have provided a sense of relief and camaraderie and built bonds.
Diagnosed five years ago, Marilyn Graham, 80, of Stonington, said the class has fostered friendships and mutual support, and noted the class was the first place she had met other women with Parkinson's.
“The exercise is so important — Punchback at Parkinson's — they always say the more active you are, the better, and I think it's true, but also the women,” the retired non-profit executive director said, explaining the importance of seeing other women with Parkinson's.
Robins expanded on the idea, saying misperceptions are prevalent, and most people don't have a good understanding of the disease that affects approximately one million Americans, 40% of them women. She pointed to a response she frequently received when she started sharing her diagnosis.
“They would say, ‘I thought only men get that,' and then you come in here and look, and it's half women,” she said.
Their friendships also bring motivation when they have what Robins calls “the I don't wannas,” because each knows their battle-buddies in this fight will be in class, and an unspoken pact will get them moving out the door to be there.
The class also gives them access to knowledge and personal experiences they each can draw on.
“Here we can pick each other's brains and experience and draw hope,” said Robins. “You really get to know people deeply, and we talk about side effects from drugs and who is on what and if anyone is in clinical trials.”
Robins, who spent some of her corporate public relations career working for pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, said there is a great deal of research being done, some of which she participates in to do her part to find better treatments or even a cure.
“I know from Pfizer it can take a really long time to turn white papers into white powders, so it's kind of exciting to swim way up stream and get into clinical studies. I know it may not happen in my lifetime, but it's a genetic disease, and genetic disease or not, we're all people,” she said.
In addition to Punch Back at Parkinson's, the Ocean Community YMCA Westerly-Pawcatuck branch offers a cycling class, Pedaling 4 Parkinson's. Classes are free with a membership, and financial assistance is available. The Y also hosts a monthly support group for women with Parkinson's Disease which does not require a membership.
More information is available on the website at www. oceancommunityymca.org.