大象传媒

Parkinson鈥檚 Disease is a neurological condition which gets worse over time, leading to tremors in the arms and legs. Treatments can eventually stop working and cause even worse tremors - a side effect known as dyskinesia. But some people with the condition 鈥� like Heidi MacLean and Susan MacLennan, who live in Ottawa, Canada 鈥� have taken up a rather surprising activity to help with their symptoms: boxing training. 鈥淗urricane Heidi鈥� and 鈥淭he Arctic Blonde鈥� are supervised in the gym by Boxing4 Health鈥檚 Christine Seaby and Jessica Lafond. Dr Julie Nantel from the Department of Kinetics at the University of Ottawa is looking at the impact of the training on the bio mechanics of Parkinson鈥檚 patients like Susan and Heidi.

Image: Susan MacLennan aka The Arctic Blonde, gets ready to spar at a Boxing4 Health session in Ottawa, Canada
Credit: Sian Griffiths