Can exercise help Parkinson’s?
The media is full with messages of how healthy exercise is for all of us. It’s keeps our heart rates lower, burns fat, increases our energy levels and just makes us feel better all around. Now however there is suggestion that exercise may extend to helping our brains work through parkinson’s disease.
In laboratory studies there is evidence that exercise has great benefits for exercise because it helps improve Parkinson’s function. It has also been implicated in protection of the brain against Parkinson’s degeneration. There has not been a lot of follow up from the laboratory results. However, when there have been experiments with an exercise component, there haven’t been many significant improvements in Parkinson’s disease patient’s control over their movements.
Can exercise help Parkinson’s?
One of the ideas scientists believe explain the difference in results is that the animal studies included a component where the animal was exercising at a rate faster than their voluntary rate. In the Parkinson's disease patient's experiments they were examined during exercises at their own voluntary rate.
Scientist are not certain whether exercising at a rate faster than the voluntary rate may change or lead to biochemical changes underlying the improvements in motor function seen in the animal model.
There are some experiments similar to the laboratory study where Parkinson's patients experience exercise rates above their voluntary threshold. In these patients, there has been marked improvements in their motor function. Patient feedback in these studies has been quite positive as well as they can see improvements in their motor function as well as in their overall energy.
These experiements are still in the very early stages and are not yet considered appropriate treatment programs. Currently traditional treatment involves medications and physiotherapy, both supervised by licensed healthcare professionals.
