“It wasn’t so much as an idea; it was a discovery,” he said.
The Community Hospital Anderson Foundation ran with it, and now the Anderson location of Rock Steady Boxing has enough participants to expand and schedule another class. The gym opened July 11.
Instead of boxing each other, Parkinson’s patients punch bags in the gym and do other activities that aren’t related to boxing that help their movement about two or three times a week. The participants also do vocal exercises to help that aspect of their symptoms.
McCurdy said he couldn’t help but bring up the idea in Anderson because, while some of the exercises can be done at home, he saw that the classes in Indianapolis made the participants a family.
“I noticed down in Indy, when one was sick, they all wanted to know about why and when they are coming back,” he said.
McCurdy said he was falling every three or four months before, but now he hasn’t fallen in two years, and he gives Rock Steady Boxing the credit for his improvements. He also said the classes have helped his confidence.
Anyone who is diagnosed with Parkinson’s can go to Rock Steady Boxing. The program even has a sliding-fee scale, so almost anyone who walks in can join, said Marianne Spangler, director of program.
Spangler said as far as people with Parkinson’s go, no one has an excuse to not try the class.
“This is them fighting back,” she said.
Spangler said she hoped to have 40 boxers by the end of this year, but she had at least 30 boxers just two weeks after opening.
Participants are assessed to see which class they belong in. Currently, classes are broken into Levels 1-2 and Levels 3-4, with the lower levels having more mobility.
Coaches of the course come from different backgrounds, but they all have training for the Rock Steady Boxing program. Coaches help make modifications for boxers who need it so they feel comfortable doing all of the exercises.
Boxers can also have their own “cornerman” come to assist them and box as well.
Nancy Shuman, who has Parkinson’s, has her sister, Julia Dotson, come with her. Shuman, of Muncie, said she loves having Dotson in her corner, especially because her sister knows of some of the limitations she has that are not related to Parkinson’s.
Shuman said the speed bags are her favorite activity, even though they are challenging for her. She said she is glad she came to the class and noticed some improvement in her symptoms quickly.
“I just thought I’d look silly, so I resigned to looking silly,” Shuman said. “I felt steadier after the third meeting,”
Dotson said people wouldn’t believe what the boxers with Parkinson’s can do.
“I think these people have played hard all of their life,” she said. “They are tigers out there.”
Rock Steady Boxing plans on expanding classes outside of the primary ones for people with Parkinson’s. The gym would like to eventually have a class for seniors without the disease and one for employees of Community Hospital Anderson.
To get more information about attending Rock Steady Boxing classes, call 765-298-4179.
Rock Steady Boxing
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http://www.heraldbulletin.com/news/local_news/patients-improving-their-lives-through-boxing/article_c6eed7f2-2581-57fa-b84b-8075b2505bc5.html
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