Can Boxing Knock out Parkinson’s Symptoms?

When Max VanDyke was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he never dreamed he'd be bobbing and weaving in a boxing gym or pounding punching bags a few years later. After learning that the condition would progressively impair his motor function due to a loss of brain cells that produce the chemical messenger dopamine, he thought he had little to look forward to but a steady decline. But he was determined not to let it get the best of him, and began attending a program in St. Joseph, Missouri that uses boxing to manage the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, and he’s been hooked ever since.
It turns out boxing is just what the doctor ordered for Parkinson’s patients…literally. Dr. Rajesh Pahwa heads the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorder Program at The University of Kansas Health System.