How to slow Parkinson’s Disease progression
Prevention, protection and slowing progression should really be the focus for everyone with Parkinson’s, improving health-span and life quality.
Exercise has shown a strong protective effect on brain health - and we recommend it for everyone, but are you still struggling to get into the exercise routine?
From our decades in clinic helping people dial down their symptoms, we know that it’s not as simple as just giving someone a set of instructions. Just telling someone ‘you should exercise’ - really isn’t enough.
In this article, we target the first step: We start with the mindset - and help you make a plan. This is the first step in overcoming hurdles, low confidence, and practical barriers, so that you can get started with ease.
Slowing Parkinson’s Disease Progression Starts Today
If we could give you a pill that could slow disease progression - and there were no side effects, would you take it?
But what if we said you could take the pill, but first you had to pay a £1,000, do a public speaking event to 500 people, or ensure peace on earth. Hard, right?
Well this is, for some people and perhaps for you - what getting started with exercise may feel like. We’re here to offer empathy - and solutions.
Because exercise will continue to be SO important for your continued wellbeing - we’re starting with tackling the first step:
The Science to Convince You
A recent pilot study (a mini study before carrying out a larger one) showed that high-intensity exercise can induce brain-protective effects that have the potential to not just slow down, but possibly reverse, the neurodegeneration associated with Parkinson’s disease.
Whilst the study was small (10 people) - the trial was carried out in humans, AND the results were measured directly, via imaging. This is incredibly valuable, as many other studies are often carried out in mice, and/or without direct measuring. Human studies are very valuable. These findings were really quite fantastic and very promising. Studies like these are expensive and hard to carry out.
The results seen, after 6 months of high intensity exercise were:
Neurons had grown healthier and produced stronger dopamine signals. They had preserved dopamine-producing neurons - the brain cells that are most vulnerable to destruction in patients with the disease.
The Many Ways Exercise Will Help your Wellbeing and Protect your Brain
Benefits are seen via a number of different mechanisms.
High Intensity exercise has been seen to increase BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) levels in the brain, which plays a crucial role in neuronal growth, survival, and synaptic plasticity.
Exercise therapy is effective in raising serum BDNF levels and can be effective in alleviating PD motor symptom.
Exercise can protect nerve cells from damage and promote the growth of new nerve connections, a process known as neuroplasticity. This is crucial for counteracting the neurodegeneration associated with Parkinson's.
Exercise, especially one that combines aerobic (raising heart beat) whilst also building strength and balance, can significantly improve gait, balance, and motor coordination in individuals with PD. So irrelevant of any improvements directly to the brain and nerves - you’ll be directly improving your PD symptoms!
Exercise can also reduce chronic pain. We could go into the neuronal pathways of pain - but let’s not forget that atrophying (weakening) or stiff muscles hurt!
You feel unfit, you’re feeling low, you have no energy. How can you get started?
In our opinion, exercise needs to bring you joy in some format, if it’s to be sustainable. Whether it’s bringing positive social interactions, make you feel part of a community, or you enjoy the exercise itself. Exercise is a unique form of ‘medication’ that can actually reverse and halt disease progression - this is amazing news! Don’t turn this down.
We recognise that Parkinson’s Disease can cause you to feel low, unmotivated, uncoordinated and tired. So start small. Raised fitness levels will lift your motivation, your depression, your coordination and energy, you just need to give it time to ‘kick in’.
Getting Started Starts With A Decision - Not the Action!
Change always starts with a decision and a mindset - not an action. It starts with a bold plan, it starts with being honest with yourself, and holding yourself accountable. But more than anything as we said - it must be fun.
How To Get Started
If exercise has never appealed to you or it sounds too hard - start with small goals. You will notice small incremental improvements - celebrate this progress. You will know that the only way to get to the top of the stairs, is to take it one step at a time.
For most people, fear or a lack of confidence holds us back from getting started, not our capability. Start with understanding your blocks and barriers better. Write a list of all types and forms of exercise you can think of. Sports, gym classes, golf, swimming, rowing, different types of dance classes - keep listing. Leave the list out on the table and keep adding. You’ll be surpriced over how many options you have.
Now you have your list: highlight 5 of your favourites. Some activities you may have enjoyed as a child perhaps (common!)? Something you always wanted to try but were too scared to?
Now take your 5 highlighted favourites, and write down all obstacles or barriers to getting started you can think of. This should come easy :). But don’t stop there. I want you to now go through each one, writing down possible solutions to each one. Tackle this task as if you were at work and your boss had tasked you to solve these problems. Cross out any that feel more like excuses (if you’re being really honest with yourself). Ensure you do this in writing - it’s not enough to do in your head.
Any confidence barriers you come across, do a bit of reflection on this. Why do you feel this way, what could have caused you to feel like this. Is it true? Our brain’s doesn’t know the difference between real fear and imagined fear - as they say.
For any physical obstacles - again, write down a possible solution. Nothing is impossible (ok, a few things are - but there are more solutions out there than not). What do you need to take action on to solve these problems?
Finally, WHAT needs to happen for you to get there? Do you need to book yourself in for trial sessions somewhere? Do you need to make that phonecall - if so, when will you do that? Do you need to find a friend to go with you, or find an easier travel route to get there? Do you need to work on your positive mindset? If so, how and when will you do that, and how long will you give it? Be sure to put a timeline on everything. Write down the required actions in your diary.
Now for the Pep-Talk
Don’t forget that the positive feelings gained from exercise does not come necessarily with that first session. As your strength, skill, endurance, balance, fitness and independence grows - THIS is when the pleasure gained from exercise grows too.
We get out of life what we put in.
There are no shortcuts around this one. If you live a life of avoidance or prefer to take the easy route - your life will be less rewarding. This sounds harsh, but we’d be happy to be argued wrong on this (comment below!)
Effort is one of THE most valuable thing humans can capture. Anything that requires effort is precisely the thing that brings us longer term happiness. By name, effort is hard - but it brings us all the things our body and mind needs.
Quick gains (i.e stay on the sofa instead of heading out on a dark cold winters’ night to exercise) - is a quick win, but a long term loose.
Need help putting this into place? Got questions? We’re here to support you..
More Information and Resources
Find a Parkions’s cycling group or FREE gym memberships via Parkinsons.org Guide Here.
