Here in Lafayette is Rock Steady Boxing. But it’s not exactly what you think it might be.
Rock Steady Boxing isn’t just a boxing class. It’s designed to help people who have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
“Some of the things we do are dual functioning task and fine motor skills. We work with the voice,” Head Coach Chad Welch said.
One of the lesser known elements of Parkinson’s is that it can affect the muscles in your neck creating difficulty speaking and even swallowing.
“I spent a lot of time choking. I had to pretty much give up any large hard food,” Alden Swartz, the President of the Lafayette Area Support Group and Parkinson’s patient, said.
Rock Steady Boxing is aware of a new clinical trial at Purdue University concerning Parkinson’s disease.
“We work actually pretty closely with Purdue. They help us with the support group. And then we actually post their fliers on our bulletin board,” Welch explained.
Purdue has partnered with the University of Illinois to research the speaking and swallowing issues.
“Swallowing and voice are actually two functions that are essential for everyday life. Without swallowing safely and efficiently we can’t nourish our bodies. Without voice we cannot communicate,” Research Director Dr. Georgia Malandraki told us.
Dr. Malandraki explained that the leading cause of death for Parkinson’s is an infection that comes from an inability to swallow safely
“We don’t have scientifically a very comprehensive answer quite yet,” Melandraki said.
The clinical trial started in 2024 and the universities plan to continue the research until 2029.
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