Kelowna gym aims to help Parkinson’s patients through boxing

Boxing isn’t the first thing one thinks about when it comes to therapy for Parkinson’s Disease patients.

However, a new program is bringing the trend of boxing classes for those living with Parkinson’s Disease to the Okanagan.

Kailee Ryan started the local program at her Kelowna fitness facility a few months ago after learning about the number of people living with Parkinson’s in the city.

Participants don’t need to have any boxing experience. At Thursday’s class Debbie Hartley was laying a series of punches into blocking pads held up by her husband. However, until recently she had never tried the sport.

“It’s so outside of my comfort zone,” she said.

But figuring she had nothing to lose, she joined the program. She believes it has helped with one of her major symptoms.

“Balance is probably one of my biggest issues. I lack self-confidence in balance so it has really helped,” Hartley said.

The class is non-contact, so punching pads is physical as it gets.

“It is not only a physical exercise. It is exercising your brain and your coordination and your balance. You’ve got to put all those things together and hopefully you are gaining instead of going backwards,” said class participant Ian Cameron.

Ryan’s gym has been running a series of five week programs for Parkinson’s patients. This is the third intake.