For 68-year-old Robert Kennedy, a retired Florida Power and Light foreman, the secret to managing his Parkinson symptoms is movement.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce you stop moving, the disease takes over,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
To that end, he swims daily and plays ice hockey twice a week. He has also joined the latest study at the University of Miami\u2019s Max Orovitz Laboratory of Neuromuscular Research and Active Aging titled \u201cComparison of Neuromuscular and Functional Adaptations to 10% and 30% Velocity-Loss Threshold Resistance Training in Persons with Parkinson\u2019s Disease.\u201d<\/p>\n
The goal of the study is to compare two approaches to resistance training that may help people with Parkinson\u2019s disease improve their strength, power, mobility and physical function, the researchers said.<\/p>\n
Parkinson\u2019s is a progressive neurological disease that causes problems with movement, balance and other bodily functions as nerve cells that make dopamine in the brain deteriorate. The disease tends to affect more men than women.<\/p>\n
The randomized study will enroll 20 adults between ages 50 and 85 with mild to moderate Parkinson\u2019s disease. Participants will complete five weeks of supervised resistance training.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis study varies from others we have done because instead of focusing on how heavy a load a person can lift, the aim is to see if they can maintain that velocity without becoming fatigued,\u201d said Joseph Signorile, professor and director of the laboratory and the study\u2019s principal investigator.<\/p>\n
Muscle weakness and slowed movement can reduce power and contribute to mobility limitations and falls among people with Parkinson\u2019s disease, the researchers said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although previous research indicates that high-speed resistance training can improve physical performance, researchers say it remains unclear how much fatigue should be allowed during each set.<\/p>\n
Prior to the training, participants are evaluated to measure changes in strength, movement speed, power, muscle size and quality, as well as walking speed, balance and sit-to-stand ability.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Each exercise session is personalized according to the person\u2019s ability and needs, said Ethan Elkins, a third-year graduate student in the Exercise Physiology program at the School of Education and Human Development. The study is his thesis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are looking at short-term fatigue response through different exercise,\u201d said Elkins. \u201cThis is important because fatigue can worsen the symptoms of Parkinson\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elkins said they are looking at what dose (how much load or force in each exercise) should be used with each participant to help them with their symptoms.<\/p>\n
The research focuses on \u201cvelocity loss,\u201d or the reduction in movement speed that occurs as muscles become fatigued during a set of exercises.<\/p>\n
Participants will be assigned to stop sets of leg presses and chest presses when their movement speed declines by either 10 percent or 30 percent.<\/p>\n
Stopping at a 10 percent decline will result in fewer repetitions and may preserve faster movements while reducing fatigue. Allowing a 30 percent decline will produce more repetitions and a greater overall training volume, which could provide a stronger stimulus for changes in muscle size and quality, said Elkins.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Participants will perform the same exercises with the same progression in resistance using several machines that include leg and chest presses.<\/p>\n
The study is designed to determine whether limiting fatigue produces better gains in speed and power or whether completing more repetitions leads to greater muscular adaptations.<\/p>\n
For Raul Busto, 68, who was diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s in 2006 and uses a walker, the study has been very beneficial. On a recent Thursday morning, he was doing leg pushes on a machine at the lab.<\/p>\n
He joined the study because he feels that after completing the exercises, he feels more confident.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Parkinson\u2019s has affected my mobility and balance,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the exercises give me something to strive for, and I hope it can ultimately help me with all the symptoms of Parkinson\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For 68-year-old Robert Kennedy, a retired Florida Power and Light foreman, the secret to managing his Parkinson symptoms…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":433624,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124,102048],"class_list":["post-433623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-parkinson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=433623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/433624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=433623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=433623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=433623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}