Fitness Friday

High-Intensity Exercise is a Valid Form of Treatment for Delaying the Effects of Parkinson's Disease

New research from Northwestern University shows that high-intensity exercise may be the answer for delaying the effects of Parkinson's disease.

Approximately 7-10 million people worldwide are affected with Parkinson's Disease, with four percent of those affected being diagnosed before the age of 50 and men being more than one and half times more likely to be diagnosed with the disease. The neurological disease, in which the person slowly loses motor control over their extremities, has more often than not taken a preventative approach to treatment rather than a total curative approach. Researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Denver recently conducted preventative research for those with a diagnosis of Parkinson's and found that exercise in a high-intensity for may be stave off the worsening of their symptoms.

Parkinson's disease symptoms and effects include progressive loss of muscle control, trembling, stiffness, slowness and impaired balance. There are some exercise classes and programs such as boxing that claim to slow down the degeneration of the neurons and loss of motor control, however researchers in this study looked at a controlled form of high intensity exercise to slow the effects of the disease while possibly avoiding medications that have harmful side-effects. The randomized clinical trial looked at 128 participants aged 40 to 80 years old, and in the early stage of Parkinson's stage while taking no medications. The participants were required to exercise three times a week for six months at high intensity, 80-85 percent of maximum heart rate, and moderate intensity, 60-65 percent of maximum heart rate, and were compared to a control group who did not exercise. After the six months were over, participants were rated on a scale of 0-108 by clinicians on their current condition, with the higher range of numbers rating the participant more severely in regards to their symptoms. All participants were rated at 20 before the study began, and those in the control group had their points increase by three points, those in the moderate group had their points increase by 1.5 points and those in the high-intensity group stayed the same..