James Boyd, M.D., professor of neurological sciences and director of the Binter Center for Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders

(OCTOBER 3, 2022) James Boyd, M.D., professor of neurological sciences and director of the Binter Center for Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders at the University of Vermont, commented for an NHPR Morning Edition story on the benefits of vigorous exercise for people with Parkinson’s disease.

Research shows that vigorous exercise can help those with Parkinson’s slow the disease. While intense activity won’t stop symptoms, Boyd explains, it can slow them down and make them go away temporarily.

He says this is why classes like a special boxing class designed to help people fight Parkinson’s offered at the Carter Community Building Association, a nonprofit recreational center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, are so important.

“As a practicing neurologist for nearly 20 years now, you do see a distinct difference between those who become engaged in physical activity early in their course, and develop good habits of exercise, to those that do not,” he says.

If boxing’s not your thing, Boyd says there are dance classes, Tai chi, and other workouts specifically designed for people with movement disorders that can help. And since COVID, many are now offered virtually.