With a disease that threatens to take away your mobility, you will likely want to do all you can to stay as fit as possible. Many kinds of regular exercise have been shown to improve the physical symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Pilates may also help you cope with Parkinson's disease both by improving your balance and helping you feel better about yourself.
Background
Parkinson's disease affects the nerve cells in your brain, called neurons. People with Parkinson's disease have lower amounts of neurons in a brain area called the substantia nigra. Neurons in the substania nigra release a chemical called dopamine which helps you coordinate fluid movements. The lower amounts of dopamine in Parkinson's disease causes you to have poorer balance and coordination as your movements become shaky, slow and rigid.
Physical Benefits
Some Parkinson's sufferers turn to Pilates to ease their symptoms. Parkinson's patients that take up Pilates report anecdotal evidence that Pilates helps to ease their symptoms, according to MSNBC. Pilates consist of slow, controlled exercise that use springs for resistance. Using springs for resistance mimics the natural movements you make in day-to-day life. Pilates allow you to increase your core strength and balance, which may ease the symptoms of rigidity and poor balance that Parkinson's sufferers experience.
Evidence
No clinical evidence provides specific support for Pilates improving the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. However, many clinical studies provide more general evidence that exercise can reduce the physical symptoms of Parkinson's disease. For example, Dr. Tanya Schmitz-Huebsch and colleagues showed that doing Qigong exercises regularly can improve the mobility of Parkinson's patients, in a study published in the journal "Movement Disorders" in 2006. Qigong consists of slow, controlled movements that aim to increase your coordination and balance. So the slow, controlled movements in Pilates may also help improve your balance and mobility if you suffer from Parkinson's.
Psychogical Benefits
Taking a Pilates class may also make you feel better in addition to improving the physical symptoms of Parkinson's. In a 1999 study in the journal "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise," Iris Reuter and colleagues showed that Parkinson's patients that exercised twice a week felt better about themselves than those that did not exercise.
Another benefit to taking Pilates classes for Parkinson's comes from the group dynamic and positive atmosphere that exercise classes foster. Fitness centers sometimes offer Pilates classes specifically for Parkinson's patients. Taking a Pilates class with people that understand and share your difficulties in having Parkinson's may help you cope with the disease.
References
- Medline Plus: Parkinson's Disease
- MSNBC: Pilates May Give Relief for Parkinson's Patients
- Pilates Association of Canada: Frequently Asked Questions
- "Movement Disorders"; Qigong Exercise for the Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study"; Tanya Schmitz-Huebsch, et al; April 2006
- The Qigong Institute: Getting Started with Qigong
- "Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise"; Therapeutic Value of Exercise Training in Parkinson's Disease; Iris Reuter, et al; November 1999
