Parkinson’s patients slow disease progression through fitness classes at Cedar Rapids Parkinson’s Association

CEDAR RAPIDS — As class gets underway, the boxing instructions from class leader Carolyn Hanson grow more aggressive.

“Left, right, left, right,” she says loud enough to be heard over Madonna’s “Into the Groove.”

“Hook, hook,” she continues, as each participant strives to hit their mark — some pushing through visible tremors to punch, grab and lift their legs over obstacles.

Like most boxing classes, there are no punches held here at HallMar Village. But in these classes, participants have a different perspective on moving their bodies.

For those with the involuntary tremors of Parkinson’s disease, their bodies are actively trying to pull them in a different direction with each punch, hook and upper.

As time marches on, the need for coordination and movement grows more urgent among those living with these types of tremors. Exercise is the best medicine to slow symptom progression, doctors tell them.

Each week, dozens gather to box, dance and sing through classes organized by the Cedar Rapids Metro Parkinson’s Association.

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But these classes are more than medication — they’re a declaration. With each obstacle course, song or dance, participants avow that they will be the ones to decide how their bodies move, before their bodies take the ability away from them.

At each class, their collective determination is renewed.

How it helps

For Cedar Rapids resident Doug Kirk, the symptoms started early. Before the software engineer’s diagnosis at age 40, his left hand couldn’t type in the afternoon, and his arm would curl up behind his back while walking.

Doctors started him on medication right away. Some said that by the time his symptoms became severe, there would be better solutions for Parkinson’s.

His medication used to control his symptoms well. So, like ibuprofen with a headache, he didn’t think much of it day to day. Over the years, his symptoms have progressed.

Twenty-four years later, the doctor’s prediction still hasn’t come true. But one thing that has always been there for him is the support from the Cedar Rapids Metro Parkinson’s Association.

Kirk and his wife joined the group in the early 2000s before moving away in 2012.

After 10 years away in Florida and Wyoming, the association was one of the top reasons they moved back to Iowa. Today, they attend exercise, boxing, dancing and singing classes to help keep symptoms at bay.

Stretching muscles, maintaining coordination and practicing basic movements is helpful.

“It’s kind of cruel you have to exercise to help with a movement disorder,” Kirk said.

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But the sense of community makes as much of a difference as the exercise. Classmates compare notes on medications and warn each other about side effects that may not be well known yet.

They also hold each other accountable to show up.

“They understand what you’re going through, and you understand what they’re going through,” he said. “They understand when your medicine isn’t working right and you can’t jog in place.”

Another boxing participant, Mary Hutchison, cared for her husband with Parkinson’s disease for years before she got her own diagnosis in 2023. She noticed tremors in her hands and difficulty doing basic tasks, like grocery shopping.

“People older than me were helping me at the door, so I knew something was up,” she said.

Throughout her career, she stayed active and had a personal trainer. Today, she has to use her brain to consciously do things that she used to be able to do without thinking.

Three days a week, she goes to classes that simulate the movement she needs to put things on high shelves or climb over steps — a combination of physical and occupational therapy. At 72, maintaining her mobility and independence is crucial.

She says the classes help her not just in body, but in mind and spirit.

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“They’ve improved my attitude, they’ve improved my well-being and outlook at life,” she said. “They’ve given me a fresh lease on life.”

Sure, she is maintaining her health. But what keeps her coming back is a feeling of accomplishment — not maintenance.

“I’ve never danced before, and I’m learning new dance steps and new moves with the boxing,” she said.

Changing their movements

Hanson, the boxing instructor and fitness director of HallMar Village, helps others maintain balance, hand-eye coordination, speed of movement, agility, muscle power, focus and rhythm. Her class does shadow boxing, bag boxing, and other balance or cardio exercises for 45 minutes each session.

“Anything and everything they need to help with Parkinson’s,” she said. “At first they’re trying to understand the moves and how the class works. After they’ve come so many times, they just get it.”

She most loves the progression she sees — not of disease, but of each boxer’s skills in punching back at life.

Susie Murray, a dance instructor for Ballroom of Eastern Iowa, said the trick is finding the music each dancer enjoys most before putting them into dances that coordinate the upper body, legs and arms: tangos, waltzes, foxtrots and merengues.

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Listening to music on time, knowing the steps, and knowing when to lead requires quite a bit of skill — Parkinson’s or not. She said the power of dance lies in forcing the mind to make constant decisions about what to do in real time.

“For dance, you use your brain a lot, which is why it’s so good for your mind and body at all ages,” Murray said. “They have something in their life they can get better at.”

Parkinsinger’s, a singing class held remotely over Zoom with singers muted, isn’t so much about having a good voice — just knowing how to use it.

Cedar Rapids Metro Parkinson’s Association

For more information on the classes, programs and supports available to those with Parkinson’s disease and their families, visit the Cedar Rapids Metro Parkinson’s Association at crmetroparkinsons.com.

“One thing we try to focus on is less having a beautiful voice, and more just coming as you are,” said Hayley Turner, certified music therapist and singing instructor. “A no-judgment space to use your voice in whatever way you want.”

Singers sharpen breath support, clarity of articulation and speech, and other physical skills that help with swallowing and breathing.

Vocal warm-ups help them hold a note longer, deep breathing exercises help them get a little more oxygen, and stretches improve their range of motion.

“Music therapy is a tool to work on non-musical goals,” Turner said. “They’re proving they can do something, which enhances a sense of agency and joyful moments.

“It’s bringing joy to their day.”

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How it grew

The association, started as a support group in 2006, grew to include exercise classes around 2009 with a handful of volunteers.

“It was about the time when studies started showing that exercise is really beneficial for Parkinson’s,” said Kris Cameron, co-founder and program director for the association. “It was one of the only interventions that could possibly help slow the progression of the disease.”

The disease tends to make movements slower and smaller. She designs exercises to increase movements, improve postural stability and increase the brain’s neuroplasticity — the ability to continue growing and learning — by teaching activities that build new neurons in the brain.

Now, over 15 years later, many of their participants are living proof of its efficacy.

Starting with classes in a Cedar Rapids church auditorium, the group quickly scaled up before becoming a nonprofit in 2017. Today, it offers its classes and support free to participants with a relatively small budget of under $50,000 from donors.

“It’s a progressive disease, there’s no cure. But people need to realize you can live well with Parkinson’s,” Cameron said.

The nonprofit has about 40 regular class participants and 75 active members overall in the organization. Many have stayed with the group since its founding.

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Many keep their symptoms at bay, and some get progressively better in their abilities over time, translating to real life tasks that help them maintain independence.

Together, they’ve watched each other go from saying “I don’t know if I can do that,” to “Look what I can do.”

“We’re limited by our own thoughts,” Cameron said. “That can really affect how we live with the disease. Attitude has a lot to do with it.”

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.