Health
Colorado doctor prescribes ping pong treatment for neurodegenerative disorders: 'Doing something good'
Pingpong Therapy
One doctor believes table tennis can help improve the symptoms of those with neurodegenerative diseases.
Fort Collins, Colorado – One doctor is prescribing ping pong for patients who have serious neurological diseases.
Dr. Antonio Barbera, a former obstetrician-gynecologist who is now living with multiple sclerosis, is founder and CEO of Table Tennis Connections in Fort Collins, Colorado, which launched its NeuroPong program in 2021.
The group gathers every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday to play ping pong — also known as table tennis — inside the gym at the Council Tree Covenant Church in Fort Collins, Barbera told Fox News.
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For each session, the doctor collects data to determine the effectiveness of the treatment.
Players are evaluated on their performance over time and the results are sent to scientists nationwide.
The NueroPong program practices multiple times a week at the Council Tree Covenant Church in Fort Collins, Colorado. (Kennedy Hayes/Fox News)
Barbera got the idea for the NueroPong program in 2021 after he received his MS diagnosis in 2016 and had to quit his job as a practicing doctor.
“I completely lost the right leg motion and sensation for about three months and had to re-learn how to walk,” he told Fox News.
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Thanks to a combination of medicine and table tennis, Barbera was able to make a full recovery, he said.
Now, the doctor said he’s inspired dozens of people who have also been diagnosed with neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease, to join the NueroPong program.
Barbera said he got the idea for the NueroPong program in 2021 after he received his MS diagnosis in 2016 and had to quit his job as an obstetrician-gynecologist. (Kennedy Hayes/Fox News)
“If the intervention of the paddle and a simple ball will improve the quality of our life, why not?” Barbera said.
NueroPong members say the program has improved their symptoms in more ways than one.
“There are so many things that Parkinson’s affects,” NeuroPong member Gil Wette told Fox News.
“It’s not just tremors and stiffness and slow movements — it’s a lot of non-motor issues … the emotional part, like anxiety and depression.”
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Healthy lifestyle changes, including exercise, have been shown to help slow the progression of neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.
“It’s not just the physical activity, but the fact that people are engaging in social activities … and interacting with other people. [This] can be beneficial,” Dr. Ronald Petersen of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in Rochester, Minnesota, told Fox News.
Players in the NeuroPong program are evaluated on their performance every few weeks. (Kennedy Hayes/ Fox News)
Since his Neuropong program started three years ago, Barbera said the organization has spread from several cities in Colorado to gyms in New Mexico, Utah and New York, and has partnered with universities in Florida, Texas and Illinois.
Barbera said he has also worked with scientists at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
“My goal is really to have gyms all over the place, where these people can go … where the neurologists can refer people and we can collect data to show the rest of the world that we are doing something good,” Barbera said.
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Multiple sclerosis affects nearly one million people in the U.S., according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
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Yoga is known to boost relaxation, strength and flexibility – and now a new study has found the practice could improve cancer survivors’ quality of life.
A randomized trial led by the University of Rochester Medical Center found that a four-week yoga program significantly reduced insomnia, fatigue, anxiety and mood disturbances after cancer treatment.
The findings were presented last week at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago.
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The study was conducted across multiple U.S. community cancer care sites, including 410 adult cancer survivors averaging 54 years of age. Around 75% were breast cancer survivors, and none of them had practiced yoga regularly within the prior three months.
A randomized trial led by the University of Rochester Medical Center found that a four-week yoga program significantly reduced insomnia, fatigue, anxiety and mood disturbances in cancer survivors. (iStock)
The participants were randomly assigned to two groups. Half of them received only standard survivorship care without the yoga, while the other half received standard care and were also enrolled in the Yoga for Cancer Survivors (YOCAS) program.
As part of the YOCAS program, the survivors completed two instructor-led 75-minute yoga sessions each week, including 18 Gentle Hatha yoga and Restorative yoga poses, breathing exercises and mindfulness training.
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Based on questionnaires completed by the patients, the survivors in the yoga group experienced “moderate-to-large” reductions in overall mood disturbance, “small-to-medium” reductions in anxiety and “medium-to-large” reductions in fatigue, the study found.
The improvements in mood and fatigue appeared to be linked to yoga’s beneficial effect on sleep quality, according to the researchers.
As part of the YOCAS program, the survivors completed two instructor-led 75-minute yoga sessions each week, including 18 Gentle Hatha yoga and Restorative yoga poses, breathing exercises and mindfulness training. (iStock)
“This indicates that cancer survivors have an option to alleviate these cancer-related side effects at the same time, without adding another drug,” lead investigator Yuri Choi, PhD, of the Wilmot Cancer Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, in Rochester, New York, told Fox News Digital.
The study did not reveal any major safety concerns or serious adverse events related to the yoga practice.
“This indicates that cancer survivors have an option to alleviate these cancer-related side effects at the same time, without adding another drug.”
The study did have some limitations, chiefly that the findings are preliminary and have not yet been peer-reviewed for a medical publication.
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“The sample in our clinical trial was relatively homogeneous, with most participants being women (96%), breast cancer patients (75%), Caucasian (93%), and having some college or higher education (82%),” noted Choi.
“We are adapting our intervention to reach all cancer patients and survivors, including the creation of a mobile app to reach people in rural communities.”
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The research also excluded patients with metastatic cancer (whose disease had spread to other parts of the body).
The total study was only four weeks, so more research is needed to determine long-term benefits.
If the findings are confirmed by peer-reviewed publications, this could lead to recommendations for structured yoga programs as a non-drug supportive therapy for cancer survivors, the researchers noted. (iStock)
If the findings are confirmed by peer-reviewed publications, this could lead to recommendations for structured yoga programs as a non-drug supportive therapy for cancer survivors, the researchers noted.
Some yoga studios may use different names for Gentle Hatha and Restorative yoga, such as Foundations Yoga or Healing Yoga, Choi noted.
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“Survivors should also look for certified yoga instructors who have experience working with cancer patients/survivors or individuals with other challenging health conditions,” the researcher advised. “They should not be afraid to ask their oncology team for referrals to qualified instructors in their community.”
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Choi also noted that the research did not reveal whether other types of yoga, such as heated-room or rigorous-flow yoga, are safe or beneficial for cancer survivors.
The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute.
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