Exercise is medicine. People talk a lot about how exercise is helpful in Parkinson's. It can improve your motor symptoms and your nonmotor symptoms. But is there one exercise that is best? Maybe! A recent study from Yale School of Medicine looked at how high intensity exercise impacts those with Parkinson's. What they found was fascinating. Let's dive in.
Yale's study included 10 people with Parkinson's. Each person had recieved their diagnosis less than 4 years ago. They completed a 6 month high intensity aerobic exercise training program and then their brain was examined via an MRI scan and a PET scan. They found that after 6 months of exercise, the neurons had grown to be healthier and produce "stronger dopamine signals." The brain imaging showed a significant increase in signals within the substantia nigra, which is the area of our brain that produces dopamine. They found that high intensity exercise yields protective mechanisms within the brain that have the ability to slow down and possibly reverse the neurodegeneration associated with PD.
Evan Morris, PhD, shared that "this is the first time imaging has been used to confirm the biology of the brain in those suffering with PD is changed by intense exercise."
Sule Tinaz, MD, PhD shared "the medications we have available are only for symptomatic treatment. They do not change the disease course. But exercise seems to go one step beyond and protect the brain at the neuronal level."
Two clinical trials, outside of the one produced by Yale, was shown that engaging in high-intensity exercise three times a week for six months is correlated with less severe motor symptoms.
Exercise is medicine! But not all is creating equal. Moderate to low intensity exercise has not been shown to have the same effects on our brain.
How do you know if your exercise is intense enough?
High intensity exercise training is when your heart rate is 70-80% of your heart rate maximum. A quick way of determining this is by using this equation: 220 minus your age.
For example: If I am 60 years old, my heart rate max would be 160 beats per minute. I would want to exercise at an intensity of 112 - 128 beats per minute to exercise at a high intensity.
Before engaging in exercise, make sure you talk with your doctor.
Exercise is accessible to everyone. It can be free or provided at a low cost. Exercise is something that will help keep your hearth, lungs, and brain healthy. We are learning so much more about Parkinson's each day, but this one is so promising and uplifting. Not everyone will be able to exercise intensely at first, but eventually you can. You won't get there unless you start.
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