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| Image credit: Morguefile |
Parkinson’s disease symptoms of tremor improve with weight training , finds an important new study.
Researchers from the American Academy of Neurology said in a media release , “While we have known that many different types of exercise can benefit Parkinson’s patients over short time periods , we did not know whether exercise improves the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s over the long term.”
Daniel Corcos , PhD , with the University of Illinois at Chicago and colleagues studied 48 patients wit Parkinson's disease who underwent progressive resistance training - weight training - for one hour , twice a week for two years.
A second group of patients with Parkinson’s disease were assigned flexibility , balance and stretching exercises , known as fitness counts.
The researchers measured progress when the patients were off their medications , using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) after six , 12 , 18 and 24 months. The scale measures the severity of symptoms of tremor that are a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease.
Weight training lead to a 7.3% improvement on the UPBRS score after two years. Both groups improved at six months , but patients that performed fitness count exercises return to the same score assigned at the start of the study.
“Our results suggest that long-term weight training could be considered by patients and doctors as an important component in managing Parkinson’s disease ,” said Corcos.
If you’ve been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease , consider speaking with your doctor about starting a weight training program.
The study showed patients with Parkinson’s disease experienced significant improvement in symptoms of tremor after two years of performing weight training exercises.
Source:
“24 Months of Exercise Improves the Motor Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease”
Daniel Corcos , PhD et al.
February 16 , 2012
