Exercise for people with Parkinson’s expands at YMCA
It has been eight years since Dave Steighner, of Butler, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, but he can still squeeze a ball with each of his fingers, still rotate his arms around his waist and still go from a seated to a standing position with relative ease.
He demonstrated all these movements on July 30 at an exercise class at the Butler YMCA that walked him and about 15 other people through some light-intensity repetitions. The movements each mimicked everyday tasks many people don’t even think about, but can present a challenge to people with Parkinson’s as they begin to lose their balance and limb functionality.
Steighner started attending these classes, which are specifically designed for people with Parkinson’s, at the YMCA shortly after he was diagnosed. He said he attends as a conscious effort to help slow the effects of the disease. He said that the classes have seemingly slowed the progression of the loss of function the disease normally brings and he gets a nice sweat going too.
“It’s called ‘Delaying the disease’ — Parkinson’s there’s no cure for but you can slow it down,” Steighner said. “You can not only have tremors, you lose other things as well. I lost my sense of smell, some of my sense of balance.”
The Butler YMCA announced July 28 its Parkinson’s Exercise Program would expand to offer four weekly classes designed to meet “the diverse needs of individuals living with Parkinson’s disease.” The classes, which range from typical repetitions to pickleball to a boxing class, are led by Jake Taciuch, healthy living coordinator at the YMCA, who has a background in exercise science and teaching people with Parkinson’s.
Before starting his class on July 30, Taciuch said his workout would offer exercises that address a slew of possible Parkinson’s symptoms.
“I try to hit the disease from any symptom you can imagine,” Taciuch said. “Generally that involves a lot more balance, motor coordination, walking — you need to keep those modifications in mind, because Parkinson’s is a very diverse disease.”
Although a majority of people at the July 30 class are people with Parkinson’s, it wasn’t obvious looking at the group. Everyone there could get around on their own, and they performed all the exercises Taciuch led them through, although some modified his actions to be a little easier to pull off.
The class was like many others at the YMCA — Taciuch spoke from the front of the room as everyone else looked on. He demonstrated each motion before telling the group to follow along with him.
Many of the exercises he demonstrated involved a rubber ball. He passed it from hand to hand, around the back of his body and under his legs, gripped it with each individual finger, and dribbled it on each side of his body. The exercisers followed suit, many of them able to keep up with Taciuch’s actions, many of which were done in a seated position.
“The ability level is from the floor to the ceiling,” Taciuch said of the people in the class. “Some people need to sit, some people you can barely tell they have Parkinson’s.”
According to Taciuch, each of his classes are meant to be for people with any level of Parkinson’s, and he typically rotates through different types of workouts throughout the week, so the classes don’t get too repetitive.
People who want to up the intensity of Taciuch’s workout are able — he even gives them suggestions on how they can modify his movements to be more or less intense.
“I always encourage people to progress and give them ideas on how to do that, how to make these exercises more challenging,” Taciuch said.
Taciuch ended that class with a game many people there might have played in elementary school — pass the balloon. Everyone stood in a circle and bounced a balloon to the next person when it came to them, which Steighner said was good for practicing hand-eye coordination.
Taciuch introduced a rubber ball with letters and numbers on it, and had everyone pass it around the circle and name an animal or do a math problem with the numerals their fingers were touching on the ball.
Nancy Weber, of Chicora, has been attending Parkinson’s exercise classes at the YMCA for about two-and-a-half years, after learning that the agency offered these workouts shortly after she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. She said workouts like the one Taciuch ended the class with are helpful in ways she didn’t expect when she first got diagnosed with Parkinson’s. She would stick around for a second class with Taciuch on July 30, a boxing class for people with Parkinson’s.
“All exercise is good,” Weber said. “Jake is fantastic, because our brains have to work, too.”
The exercise was also good for grip strength, as Steighner explained.
“It helps with coordination,” Steighner said. “You start losing your grip when you have Parkinson’s.”
Heidi Nicholls Bowser, healthy living director at the Butler YMCA, said the expansion of the Parkinson’s programs at the YMCA was also an effort to connect people with the disease to one another, as well as their partners and caregivers. The interaction between people in that class was evidence that the classes are good for connection.
“Our goal is to offer more than just exercise — we’re building confidence, connection and community,” Nicholls Bowser said. “This is one of the most engaged groups we have in the building.”
Neil Hutchison, of Butler, said he likes working out in a group, especially after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s about three years ago. He has always been pretty active, he said, so the Parkinson’s classes are just another way for him to keep going out and about.
“I like the social part of it,” Hutchison said. “I stay pretty active. I’m an outdoorsman.”
The class that day ended after the balloon game, but some people in it just took a water break before starting the Parkinson’s boxing class a few minutes later.
Steighner said he enjoyed the day’s workout, adding that he sometimes tires out the left side of his body, another symptom of Parkinson’s. He said that while he has already seen pretty much every exercise Taciuch demonstrated that day, the class is still beneficial for his Parkinson’s symptoms.
“It affects everyone a little differently. It usually affects one side of your body,” Steighner said. “My left side is my weaker side … sometimes I get tired, I’m dragging my foot, I can’t pick up coins off a table.
“This is good for working my hands.”
For more information on the Butler YMCA’s Parkinson’s programs, visit its website at bcfymca.org.
