Exercise can stall Parkinson's disease, says society
A group that supports Manitobans with Parkinson's disease is urging patients to exercise, as it could help slow down the progression of the incurable neurological disease.
One Winnipeg man, Blair Sigurdson, says he's living proof that exercise can help.
Sigurdson, 52, says after he was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's three years ago, he read about a man in the United States who dealt with more severe symptoms by walking around with a backpack containing weights.
The man walked to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro within a year, said Sigurdson, who was inspired by the story.
"It kept his symptoms at bay; he did really well. So when I read his story, I grabbed a 25-pound weight, threw it in my backpack, and I've walked a thousand miles since," Sigurdson told CBC News.
Sigurdson walks with the weight for almost five kilometres a day and does daily exercises that help regain large movements and reduce stiffness.
He continues to work full-time and said exercising has made simple tasks, like doing up buttons and shaving, easier to do.
Sigurdson and Tim Hague, who also has early-onset Parkinson's, led a group of fellow patients in an exercise program Tuesday in Winnipeg.
Parkinson Society Manitoba, which hosted the event, says it believes moderate exercise can play a role in stalling the progression of the disease.
Symptomatic improvement
Dr. Andrew Borys, an assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Manitoba, said moderate exercise may help patients manage their Parkinson's by preserving mobility.
"There is some theoretical things to consider, that it could be doing that, but the proof is not there. At this time, we know that exercise definitely makes a symptomatic improvement in terms of how people are doing," Borys said.
Roughly 6,000 Manitobans are living with the neurodegenerative disease, which eventually robs patients of their ability to perform simple tasks like walking or eating, according to the society.
Officials added that while the majority of patients are older, a growing number of younger people — those between the ages of 21 and 40 — are being diagnosed.
Tuesday's exercise event kicked off the Parkinson SuperWalk, a national fundraiser that takes place in Winnipeg on Sept. 7.
Sigurdson's 12-year-old daughter, Jenna, has raised more than $21,000 for the SuperWalk in the past two years.
Jenna Sigurdson said she's proud of her father for doing what he can to fight the disease.
"It's just amazing and I'm very proud of him because he keeps doing lots of exercise to help him," she said.