Fighting Parkinson ‘s with exercise

John Hougan was 52 when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. What began as a slight tremor one morning soon led him to Vancouver General Hospital.

After three days of tests, he received the news.

"I was taken aback," he said of the diagnosis. "It's not something that's in my family. At first, I was more bothered by not knowing what it was. I knew a little bit about Parkinson's because my wife works with somebody who has it."

He also was aware that actor Michael J. Fox has the disease. "The first thing you think is: how fast is this going to progress?" Caused by a decrease in the production of dopamine, Parkinson's is characterized by uncontrollable movements and muscular rigidity. It usually strikes adults over 50, although the degenerative disease can hit earlier, particularly when there is a family history of Parkinson's. The average age of diagnosis in Canada is approximately 62, but Parkinson Society Canada says there has been an increase in the number of patients under the age of 50.

There is no known cure for the disease. Current treatments call for medication that includes synthetic dopamine. But Hougan, an active person to begin with, has adopted a fitness regimen designed and advocated by Arizona physiotherapist Becky Farley.

"It's something you do in tandem with the medication," said Hougan, who is now 57. Studies show exercise increases the number of dopamine receptors in animals and humans, which makes the brain more efficient with less dopamine. And comparison studies have shown groups on a medicine-and-exercise treatment do better than a meds-only group.

Hougan met Farley in 2008 when she was a guest at the Parkinson Society BC's annual general meeting. "I've been fairly active all my life, so I figured this was a doctor, a PhD, I needed to talk to. What she had to say sounded interesting."

A few months later, he began following an exercise approach that targets the disease's symptoms of slow, small movements.

"There's been a lot of research over the last five years on the fact that exercise, yoga and tai chi can help with balance, can help with muscle rigidity," Hougan said. "After I've done some of my exercise, I find that sometimes my tremor will subside."

One 2009 study noted that tango dancing can also improve mobility in Parkinson's patients. Another study in 2011 noted that music-based movement therapy might also help with gait and gait-related activities.

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Fighting Parkinson 's with exercise