Dr. John Nutt 00:00:12
What I recommend is an exercise program that has four parts. One of the components of an exercise program is aerobic fitness. This is bicycling, rowing, doing things like this. The second one is strengthening, and a lot of this is either weight machines or small weights. The third is stretching.
And yoga can be really good for this. And the fourth part, and I think this is really important, is agility. Looking for things that will help you with your balance and help prevent falls.
The recommendations are that you exercise for 30 minutes a day, at least five days a week. More is better. That should really be a minimum. And you don't have to try to have all four components in each day.
Dr. John Nutt 00:01:06
One or two days could be cardiovascular fitness. Other days could be strengthening, and other days could work on balance and stretching.
Well, this is not known for certain. There are some studies that suggest that exercise may either help repair the dopamine system that's damaged in Parkinson's disease or prevent further damage.
What is known is that exercise changes what happens in your brain, and it actually has a lot of beneficial effects on the basic chemistry in the brain. And this is sometimes referred to as neuroplasticity.
Dr. John Nutt 00:01:52
So even though it may not directly combat Parkinson's disease, it helps the brain compensate. And there's no doubt that people do better if they are exercising, and it does prevent consequences of Parkinson's disease from being as severe as they might be without exercise.
Another thing that can be very helpful to people to either reduce the number of falls or prevent any further falls are exercise programs such as Tai Chi or Pilates.
Simply walking in a straight line or getting out and walking around the block is not going to challenge the balance system as much as trying to dance, doing Pilates, doing Tai Chi.
Dr. John Nutt 00:02:41
The other benefit is if they're done in a group, there's great social interaction, and it's really fun. People really enjoy that as well. In many parts of the country now, there are classes that are specifically for people with Parkinson's disease.
Can't emphasize enough that we think it's very important for people to keep moving and moving in a way that helps improve their balance and their agility.