Parkinson's patients fight back with fitness

In January, Neil MacAulay couldn't do a single jumping jack. Having Parkinson's at 64 meant he had great trouble moving his right and left feet together.

After a few weeks attending boxing classes for people with Parkinson's in Glace Bay, N.S., he can do over 30 jumping jacks, easily. On the long weekend, he was out water tubing with his eight- and 10-year-old granddaughters.

Seeing her father become happier and healthier, Alison MacAulay decided to bring the classes to Moncton, N.B., for the first time.

"It's to give people hope," said MacAulay, who is an occupational therapist at a Moncton hospital. "It's the hope that everybody, when they're given the diagnosis of Parkinson's, knows that here's something to fight back [with]."

After attending one class with her dad in Nova Scotia, she booked a flight to Indianapolis where she took a two-day class and become an affiliate of Rock Steady Boxing, an organization that has over 600 affiliates around the world.

She offers mostly circuit, no-contact boxing training focusing on balance, strength and agility. Those are the drills that keep boxers flexible and challenge the part of the brain targeted by Parkinson's disease.

"I've had four classes so far and I've had seven boxers with Parkinson's come and they've been really enjoying it," she said. "So they're quite excited to have something designed for them that works on the type of challenges that they face."

She said it's important to note that these exercises help mitigate the symptoms — shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement early on, and thinking and behavioural problems as well as dementia later. But it is not a cure.

"It's not stopping the progression, I tell people it's not a cure but it does help the symptoms," she said.

Neil MacAulay said he's happy his daughter is offering this program to people who are suffering from the same illness he is.

"I'm really proud of her, just to take the initiative and do it. So many people are going to benefit from it," he said.

Emotional support

Alison MacAulay has held a few classes at Riverview Recreation Center already. One of the participants is David Moore, 56, who said these classes have helped his symptoms considerably.

"It's pretty tough, it's an aggressive exercise program but it's really enjoyable, it's a lot of fun," he said. "Last week, I battled a headache and fatigue and lack of energy and I pulled myself around and convinced myself to go to class and afterwards, I felt very best."

He said the biggest issues he's struggled with are lack of energy and fatigue, as well as difficulty balancing. But he said aside from the physical aspects of the class, he appreciates being around other people with Parkinson's at different stages.

"For me to pull myself off the couch and go to a regular gym on a regular basis and work out with an average person, I don't think I can do it," he said. "But by going to this class, we don't have to prove ourselves to anybody."

He said he also found new friends there.

"I find it kind of inspiring because we're all at different kinds of stages," he said.

Father and daughter classes

Alison MacAulay said she's opening the classes up to the public next week, and every Tuesday and Thursday after. For the next two to three classes, her father will be coming from Nova Scotia to join them.

Neil MacAulay said he's going to help out by sharing his personal experience, but Alison "is the boss. I'm going to do whatever she tells me."