LIVERPOOL, N.Y. (NCC News) — For those living with Parkinson’s disease, every day can feel like a battle. One group in Liverpool is fighting back through a unique program that uses boxing as therapy.
The program, called Rock Steady Boxing, was held at the Empower Parkinson Wellness Center on Taft Road.
Rock Steady Boxing uses drills as a form of physical therapy to combat the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
Trainer Leroy Stokes Jr. was one of the session’s coaches. He said boxing helps fight the progression of the disorder’s physical symptoms.
“It slows it down and it helps with your motor skills,” Stokes said. “It opens up different things.”
They also used sequence drills to target parts of the disorder that affect memory, according to Stokes.
“I say ‘get a punch sequence going,’ and then they freeze and can’t move for like 30 seconds,” Stokes said. “Boxing helps with that a lot.”
Mark Celi was one of more than a dozen people who attended the Saturday morning session. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease nine years ago and has been a regular at the program.
Celi said the boxing sessions gave him, and many others, a sense of community.
“It’s like going to church. It’s great,” Celi said. “I’m happy.”
Karen Cretaro, a program coach who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2016, also said the program provided more than physical therapy.
“For a lot of the people here, they’re friendly, they’re jovial with each other. It’s not just a sense of working out,” Cretaro said.
Having repeated sessions, Cretaro said, also helped spread critical information about things like symptoms and treatment options.
“They’re with other people and they can share stories and what medications they’re on,” she said. “They get into conversations about what their doctor’s telling them what to do.”
In general, getting access to Parkinson’s treatment can be difficult, said Cretaro.
The Parkinson’s Foundation estimated that of the 90% of Parkinson’s patients on Medicare, only 20% see a physical therapist.
“A neurologist will tell them it’s important to exercise, but for them to just walk into a gym and do it on their own, they’re at a loss,” Cretaro said.
There’s also a gap in access to higher levels of Parkinson’s care, according to data from the Parkinson’s Foundation. General neurologists and movement disorder specialists are linked to a higher quality of life for patients, but they only accounted for 60% of Parkinson’s disease care in 2019.
“A lot of people with Parkinson’s don’t realize there’s a difference between a general neurologist and a movement disorder specialist,” Cretaro said.
To help combat the gap, the Empower Parkinson Wellness Center offers support groups and yearly conferences on top of programs like Rock Steady Boxing to distribute new information about Parkinson’s disease care.
More information about upcoming events and classes can be found at empowerparkinson.org.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Boxing fights Parkinson’s disease
Tyler Oldano: From a distance, Rock Steady Boxing looks like your average ring-side gym. But if you look closer, you’ll see the contenders aren’t fighting for a title. Their opponent is Parkinson’s disease.
Leroy Stokes Jr: One, two, three, screw PD!
Oldano: And Mark Celi says it’s a tough one to knock out.
Mark Celi: Some days it’s good, like today, it’s okay. Some days it’s not like this. Some days you can’t do nothing.
Oldano: Mark and the many others at the gym are using boxing as a way to keep their bodies active and slow down the symptoms. And Coach Roy Stokes is there to help.
Roy Stokes: But you’re doing better today.
Mark Celi: Yeah.
Oldano: Even though he says the motivation goes both ways.
Roy Stokes: I want to have the kind of motivation that they have. You know, they’re motivated to get themselves well, you know, and this disease, you know, if you go downhill, you go downhill. But the more you fight, the slower you go downhill.
Oldano: And while the physical trainers I spoke to say it’s the exercise that does a lot of the heavy lifting, others say it’s the community behind these doors that makes all the difference.
Karen Cretaro: They come here and they’re with other people and they can share their stories, what medications they’re on. They get into conversations about what their doctors are telling them to do.
Oldano: And Mark says that sense of belonging and the training at Rock Steady Boxing is what keeps him pushing.
Mark Celi: This is the ultimate right here. The ultimate.