Boxing class helps people with Parkinson’s live their best lives

A boxing class in Baltimore is helping people living with Parkinson’s disease make connections in more ways than one. WBAL-TV 11 News has more on a program that’s making a difference in mind, body and soul. In this boxing class, every jab, every uppercut is about more than just good exercise; it’s about helping people with Parkinson’s live their best lives. Patricia Wessels is the head coach at Rock Steady Boxing at Charm City.”Exercise is medicine for people with Parkinson’s. The harder you work, the more you get brain chemicals, and the more you make new pathways for movement patterns. The better you feel, the better you move,” Wessels said. “This is a non-contact boxing class, but it’s really multimodal exercise. We use resistance training. We have some flexibility training.”Rock Steady Boxing at Charm City in Ruxton is designed specifically for people with Parkinson’s disease. Jim Czarnecki, who lives with Parkinson’s, spoke on the positive effect of the program.”I look forward to it. Matter of fact, it’s my life,” Czarnecki said. He believes it has slowed the progression of his symptoms, helping with balance, cognition and socialization.”I do this about three times a week and if I can, I would do it more. It really is the community that comes out of this is wonderful. We do things together,” Czarnecki said.The classes are offered five days a week.”Classes are 75 minutes and from start to finish, it’s pretty hardcore,” Wessels said.And it’s free thanks to the nonprofit organization Maryland Association for Parkinson Support, known as MAPS. For participants like Mary Thorney, who was diagnosed eight years ago, it’s made a huge difference.”Parkinson’s can be a very lonely disease. It makes your physical movement smaller. It can make your community smaller, and these classes are expanding both. The exercise incorporates amplitude, and thinking big and standing tall,” Thorney said. “It’s really made a difference in my personal treatment plan and my outlook on the disease.”For those interested in finding a class, it’s not hard; they are in communities all over the state, as well as the country and internationally. For more information, visit the following website.

BALTIMORE —

A boxing class in Baltimore is helping people living with Parkinson’s disease make connections in more ways than one. WBAL-TV 11 News has more on a program that’s making a difference in mind, body and soul.

In this boxing class, every jab, every uppercut is about more than just good exercise; it’s about helping people with Parkinson’s live their best lives. Patricia Wessels is the head coach at Rock Steady Boxing at Charm City.

“Exercise is medicine for people with Parkinson’s. The harder you work, the more you get brain chemicals, and the more you make new pathways for movement patterns. The better you feel, the better you move,” Wessels said. “This is a non-contact boxing class, but it’s really multimodal exercise. We use resistance training. We have some flexibility training.”

Rock Steady Boxing at Charm City in Ruxton is designed specifically for people with Parkinson’s disease. Jim Czarnecki, who lives with Parkinson’s, spoke on the positive effect of the program.

“I look forward to it. Matter of fact, it’s my life,” Czarnecki said.

He believes it has slowed the progression of his symptoms, helping with balance, cognition and socialization.

“I do this about three times a week and if I can, I would do it more. It really is the community that comes out of this is wonderful. We do things together,” Czarnecki said.

The classes are offered five days a week.

“Classes are 75 minutes and from start to finish, it’s pretty hardcore,” Wessels said.

And it’s free thanks to the nonprofit organization Maryland Association for Parkinson Support, known as MAPS. For participants like Mary Thorney, who was diagnosed eight years ago, it’s made a huge difference.

“Parkinson’s can be a very lonely disease. It makes your physical movement smaller. It can make your community smaller, and these classes are expanding both. The exercise incorporates amplitude, and thinking big and standing tall,” Thorney said. “It’s really made a difference in my personal treatment plan and my outlook on the disease.”

For those interested in finding a class, it’s not hard; they are in communities all over the state, as well as the country and internationally. For more information, visit the following website.