Parkinson’s effects battled in boxing program at NYIT – Newsday

Who hasnt dabbled in a bit of self-diagnosis and treatment to cure what ails us?

Have a headache? Take some aspirin and lie down.

Feeling queasy and lightheaded? Sip some ginger ale, nibble on crackers and lie down.

Battling Parkinsons and losing muscle strength and mobility? Dont lie down. Take up boxing, minus the body blows.

Thats what Rosilind Drukker did, after convincing her board-certified neurologist to take a certification program to bring the Rock Steady program to New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury.

I lost my handwriting when I was first diagnosed, said Drukker, 61, who lives in Dix Hills and learned she had the degenerative disease in 2010. About a year or two later, movement became very difficult. That is what Rock Steady has helped me with. Its helped me move a lot quicker and without the terrible aches.

Rock Steady is a noncontact boxing program founded by former Indiana prosecutor Scott Newman after he was diagnosed with Parkinsons in 2006. The organization became a national phenomenon over time, and patients and doctors alike took interest in the program.

Exercise plays a fundamental role in the treatment of Parkinsons, a neurodegenerative disease that erodes parts of the brain associated with motor control. Patients slowly lose control of their body as the disease progresses. Approximately 1 million people in the United States have Parkinsons, and 60,000 are diagnosed each year, according to the Parkinsons Disease Foundation.

Physical therapy can delay or even prevent the diseases effects in some cases, but many physicians find it difficult to hold their patients to strict therapy regimens.

Adena Leder, a neurologist and movement disorders specialist at NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine, was Drukkers doctor. She took her patients advice, attended a certification program last May and uses Rock Steady to empower her patients in the treatment of their condition and help improve their quality of life.

A lot of Parkinsons patients dont want to do physical therapy because it makes them play the sick role, Leder said. The program, which began in September with five patients and has grown to nearly 90, gives them somewhere to go, she said. Many of these patients are socially isolated, and some of them dont leave their house. Many of them have formed bonds with one another, and theyve made connections.

Patients get referrals from their doctors or hear of the program through word-of-mouth. Rock Steady sessions are held Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for the advanced class, which Drukker attends. A modified class meets two days a week. Neurologists screen patients before they start boxing to assess which class they should join.

In the program, the patients are referred to as boxers, have their hands taped and are fitted with gloves. They strike punching bags and focus mitts donned by the staff, who are referred to as cornermen. To improve mobility, they also do two-handed rope exercises and lift 12-pound exercise balls.

Leder said NYIT staff supervises the boxers to ensure their safety at all times. The environment, and the language, are designed to keep the participants empowered. Student assistants from NYIT help maintain that environment. Kirtan Patel, a student at the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine, said student volunteers work to individualize each boxers workout, and try to group participants by their ability.

Its really cool to have some students really get to know the boxers and help out specific patients, Patel said. They get a lot more focused when we do that.

Leder said that the NYIT program is in high demand and that she is working to increase the number of classes offered.

We have a patient who was extremely dependent on a walker, and for the last few classes he walks in by himself, Leder said. Thats a marked change from where he started.

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Parkinson's effects battled in boxing program at NYIT - Newsday