Punching Back
at Parkinson’s
Maria Lentz
A unique exercise program based on safe, non-contact
boxing movements is showing substantial progress
in reducing many of the symptoms experienced by
people with Parkinson’s. It has proven to be a positive,
life-changing experience for participants and instructors
alike. The program began three years ago at the
Dopamain Gym in Red Deer, Alberta, and was created
specifi cally to improve Parkinson’s symptoms.
Parkinson’s disease is a chronic and progressive
movement disorder that involves the malfunction and
death of vital nerve cells in the brain. Some of those
dying neurons produce dopamine, a chemical that
sends messages to the part of the brain that controls
movement. The loss of dopamine results in the primary
motor signs of Parkinson’s disease — tremors, slowness,
rigidity, and balance problems. Non-motor symptoms
can include loss of sense of smell, mood and sleep
disorders, and problems with memory.
“I joined the Dopamain Gym as a support and
matched boxing partner for a teacher friend of
mine who has Parkinson’s. Since October 2016, I
have seen amazing progress in strength, stamina,
coordination, fl exibility, balance, and sociability in
all the participants.” (Rosemarie S.)
50 | arta.net
Photo Credit: Ashli Barrett, Lacombe Globe
The exercise program used at the Dopamain Gym was
developed by Doug Rowe. It began after Doug, who has
a background in guidance counselling in addition to
coaching boxing, watched a documentary based on the
U.S. Rock Steady Boxing program. The program shared
the positive eff ects that boxing movements were having
in people with Parkinson’s. The news item sparked
Doug’s desire to learn more about how to relieve pain
and improve quality of life, not only for himself but
particularly for those with Parkinson’s.
Contact with the Parkinson Association of Alberta
affi rmed their interest. After completing a training
program to become an instructor, Doug took that
knowledge, incorporated it with his experience, and the
“Dopamain Gym” was born.
The gym opened in Red Deer in the summer of 2016.
It presently has about twenty-fi ve clients, meeting two or
three times a week. In July 2019, demand for a similar
“boxercise” program resulted in the establishment of
the Shadow Box Gym in Lacombe, which has sixteen
participants. Seven other coaches work with Doug — two
of whom are Parkinson clients who have improved so
much they are helping as instructors.
Coach Doug Rowe credits the widespread neurological
improvements he has witnessed to the program’s use of
activating fast twitch muscles.