05 Sep Hire a Personal Trainer if you have Parkinson’s Disease

Discovering you have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) can be overwhelming. The fact remains that Parkinson’s Disease is a chronic, degenerative, neurologic disease which will increase in severity over time due to the degeneration of the nervous system.  Parkinson’s disease is not reversible, so the best treatment plan involves a combination of prescription medication and lifestyle changes to manage the disease. Aerobic exercises, like Rocksteady boxing and Pilates, can alleviate movement disorder symptoms and slow progression of the disease. Boxing increases reaction timing, fast twitch motor skills, boost confidence to move. The fight back against Parkinson’s is just that to fight back the slow deterioration of Parkinson’s. It also improves with plant base nutrition habits, since fortified foods has also been a link to Parkinson’s

What causes Parkinson’s Disease

To understand how the disease progresses, you have to understand its cause. Parkinson’s Disease is caused by a slow deterioration of the nerve cells in the brain that create dopamine. Dopamine is a natural substance found in the brain that helps control muscle movement throughout the body. Therefore, as the nerve cells die, dopamine production reduces, and muscle movement is affected. Medication helps to increase dopamine levels, which increases mobility, but can also cause unwanted muscle movements.

So how can you slow the process of further deterioration if there is no cure? Researchers have found that exercise can reverse some symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease by helping protect the dopamine producing nerve cells. In addition to prescription medications to control the symptoms of the disease, regular aerobc exercise is often prescribed to help patients slow the progress of their disease and gain some control over their condition.

Why you should hire a Personal Trainer

As with anyone beginning an exercise routine, the biggest challenge can be the motivation to take the first step. To be successful, you need to find activities that appeal to you, and create a regular routine that is adjusted to your unique medical needs and personal interests. A personal trainer can be very useful in helping establish and maintain this type of routine. Personal trainers (PT) create a personalized exercise regimen which caters to your health and your personality.The PT provides expertise, accountability, and social interaction which can ensure that patients can fit exercise into their lifestyle, as well build and maintain an ongoing support system to improve their health and welfare.

For patients with Parkinson’s Disease, it is very important to start exercising as soon as possible.This will help build and maintain connections in the brain. Once lost, these connections cannot be regained, so it is important to do everything to maintain the ones you have. Exercising with a personal trainer not only helps to motivate you to stick to your routine, but also provides someone to monitor your health and ensure your safety.

Benefits of hiring a Personal Trainer to help with Parkinson’s

• The more you move, the less you deteriorate. You cannot reverse previous damage, but together you and your personal trainer can slow and prevent further damage.
• As muscle movements and balance become more challenging, its important to strengthen muscles, bones, and joints.
• Your trainer will design a routine that helps you increase mobility, muscle control, and stamina, as well as decrease stiffness in your joints.
• Your PT can help you improve balance and flexibility, which reduces the risks of falls.
• Exercising regularly reduces overall fatigue, so a regular PT routine would help you maintain your current level of muscle function.
• Maintaining a regular exercise routine improves cognitive function and memory.
• Working with someone who understands your individual challenges and needs helps alleviate the stress of figuring everything out on your own; you are not alone!
• Your PT will help you gain self-confidence and celebrate each accomplishment with you.
• Working with a PT promotes independence, which can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Overall, the greatest physical and mental health benefit of a regular PT routine is that it gives you better overall quality of life, and less difficulty performing the tasks of daily living. You gain more control over the progression of your disease the sooner you begin.

As always, check with your doctor to ensure you are healthy enough to begin any new exercise program; you can even ask them for any suggested modifications they feel would benefit your specific health concerns.

If you don’t enjoy your workout, it won’t work out. Your PT can design a routine that interests you so that you’re more likely to stick with it. Remember to keep your PT informed of any changes to your medications and their side effects so they can adjust your regimen. Together, you and your PT can monitor your symptoms and the progression of your disease. Together, you can adjust your routine as your health changes and help you gain more control over your body and your life.

The research is clear: working with a personal trainer gives you enhanced physical, mental and cognitive health, all of which are especially important to people with a chronic ailment. Experts agree that it is best to begin a challenging exercise program early in the disease, which fosters a more active lifestyle and overall higher quality of life.