FORT
WORTH, Texas. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It happens 60,000 times a year. That’s how
often doctors tell people they have Parkinson’s Disease.
After
that, the ‘fight’ against the disease begins. But there’s a program where
Parkinson’s patients are actually throwing punches.
He’s a
two-time world boxing champion and now Paulie Ayala trains a special class of
fighters: people with Parkinson’s. His program is called ‘Punching Out
Parkinson’s’ at his University of Hard Knocks gym in Fort Worth, Texas.
“These
are total strangers that I would never run into; they have never seen me
fight,” Ayala said. “They’re over here fighting their own battle, so I’m just
happy that I’m able to help.”
There’s
zero chance for a knockout here. About 80 Parkinson’s ‘fighters’ focus on their
hand-eye coordination, footwork and agility. An expert in the disease
says the program is a winner.
“They
were in a wheelchair six months ago, and now they are boxing Paulie,” Roger
Blair, MD Neurologist at Neurology Associates of Fort Worth. “If they can do
it, I can do it, and in time, they will do it.” (:09)
“I was
doing one foot at a time, and then all of a sudden I picked up both feet and
started jumping,” Suzanne Maxwell said. “I haven’t jumped rope since I was a
teenager.”
“It’s
tremendous,” Jack Glaze, Parkinson’s patient told Ivanhoe. “Paulie is a great
coach. He doesn’t cut us any slack.”
Sherry
Campbell loves the group dynamics of the workout and her pink gloves. “I
put my gloves on yesterday for all my grandchildren and they were quite
impressed,” Campbell said.
Former
banking CEO Murray Zoota wants to grow Ayala’s program nationally. “I always
want to think in my mind that I’m knocking Paulie out,”Zoota explained. “I try
to hit him sometimes as hard as I can.”
“This
works, and I’m not ever putting anybody in danger,” Ayala said. “I’m not ever
going to hurt anybody.”
With a
former world champ in their corner, these fighters are convinced they’ll never
have to throw in the towel against Parkinson’s.
Ayala is
working with a team of physical therapists to study whether boxing therapy is
effective enough to be covered under healthcare plans in the future.
Contributors
to this news report include: Don Wall, Field Producer; Amber Sumpter, News
Assistant; Brent Sucher, Editor and Mark Montgomery, Videographer.
http://health.einnews.com/article/295936192/gtgXBGQB3uWhKeq_
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