Hawaii fitness center combats Parkinson’s with exercise

HONOLULU (KHON2) — A local fitness center specializes in preventative training programs targeting a disease that impacts our kupuna.

Fitness Therapy Hawaii specializes in step-by-step preventative training programs targeting Parkinson’s symptoms.

In the program, patients get a clearance with doctors, work with physical therapists and prescribed medication.

“Science shows that once you get diagnosed as soon as possible, right? What exercise will do is help you keep those neurons firing, because Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disease. The longer you wait for these patterns of movement, you will die,” George Ma, Fitness Therapy Hawaii owner, said.

According to Yale Medicine, exercise is an essential component of Parkinson’s disease management, saying “high-intensity exercise induces brain-protective effects that have the potential to not just slow down but possibly reverse the neurodegeneration associated with Parkinson’s Disease.”

“When you get diagnosed with Parkinson’s, in the beginning, you have no hope. And then you come here, you do your tour, there’s hope. And then as they start moving through our exercise programs, they find purpose. And we have clients who have been with us for seven years at stage one,” Ma said.

Fighting the disease thats way might be intimidating to some… that’s why Fitness Therapy Hawaii lets caretakers work out with their loved ones.

Group classes are also available, which encourage socialization for what can be an isolating disease.

“In Hawaii, there is a stigma for Parkinson’s, and I think having a place and having that purpose and understanding that your fellow member has been fighting it with you,” Ma said.

Visit the Fitness Therapy Hawaii website for more information.