Taking on Parkinson’s Disease—With Boxing Gloves and Punching Bags

In a California gym, people living with Parkinson’s practice noncontact boxing to redefine their experience of the disease and maintain a sense of self.came wafting into the boxing gym from a restaurant across the street. Located in downtown San Diego, the gym storefront’s two large garage doors were rolled open, letting sunshine and breeze spill into the open space. A bell rang out in the gym, and dozens of boxers slowly stopped their workouts.

Moxie was one of the handful of women who trained at the gym. She was diagnosed in her early 50s, complicating her ability to continue working in her high-stakes career. After an extensive legal battle for disability benefits, Moxie was able to retire early and dedicate her energy to “staying ahead” of the disease. “is my job now,” she said about her efforts to stay healthy. At the time we met, she had been living with the disease for around five years.

Training as a boxer develops the precise physical and mental functions that are weakened by Parkinson’s, such as muscle control, balance, and mental focus. In noncontact boxing, like the kind Moxie does, fighters don’t receive any punches to the body or head, but they do punch bags and mitts. This form of training has been growing in popularity as a highly effective intervention for people with Parkinson’s. It can now be found in gyms throughout the world.

New gym members receive a boxing name and become part of a community of active individuals, who refuse to be passive patients. With other fighters, they openly discuss fatigue, anxiety, depression, apathy, and the cognitive complications they’re experiencing. At the gym, symptoms such as swaying, freezing, tremoring, and struggling to walk in a straight line are normalized.

For all its positives, boxing does not resonate with everyone. Some cannot get past the sport’s violent nature. Others struggle with facing people in more advanced stages of Parkinson’s and find exposure to them to be too scary when picturing their own futures. Some cannot sort out the logistics of getting to the gym or simply can’t afford the classes. Insurance companies don’t reimburse boxing.

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