--Twice-Weekly Resistance Training Sessions Can Improve Tremors, Slowness, and Rigidity--
Weight training twice a week may reduce the stiffness, slowness, and tremors often seen in people with Parkinson’s disease, a new study shows.
A progressive neurologic disease, Parkinson’s affects up to 1 million people in the U.S. Symptoms include tremors and difficulty with movement and walking. The study shows that weight training for two years trumps stretching and balance exercises for these so-called motor symptoms.
The findings are to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in New Orleans.
In the study, 48 people with Parkinson’s disease participated in a weight-training program or another program aimed at improving flexibility, balance, and strength. Participants exercised for one hour twice a week for two years. They were aged 59, on average, and had had Parkinson’s for about seven years.
Everyone saw benefits after six months, but these benefits lasted two years among those in the weight-training group.
Specifically, people in the weight-training group saw a 7.3-point improvement after two years on a measure that combines symptoms of Parkinson’s into a single score. “The three cardinal signs of Parkinson’s disease are slowness, tremor, and rigidity, and weight training will help all of these,” says researcher Daniel Corcos, PhD, of the University of Illinois at Chicago. “Our study shows weightlifting twice a week is helpful and you should try to work all of your muscle groups.”
It is always a good idea to talk to your doctor before beginning a new exercise regimen.
“Anyone can do it, from the newly diagnosed to people with advanced Parkinson’s in wheelchairs. It is never too late to start,” Corcos says.
People in wheelchairs may be able to exercise their ankles using resistance bands, for example.
By Denise Mann
WebMD Health News - 2/16/2012
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