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Exercise for people with Parkinson’s: a practical approach
  1. Bhanu Ramaswamy1,
  2. Julie Jones2,
  3. Camille Carroll3
  1. 1Faculty of Health and Wellbeing, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK
  2. 2School of Health Sciences, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK
  3. 3Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Bhanu Ramaswamy, Faculty of Health and Wellbeing, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S10 2BP, UK; b.ramaswamy{at}shu.ac.uk

Abstract

Exercise is key to a healthy and productive life. For people with Parkinson’s, exercise has reported benefits for controlling motor and non-motor symptoms alongside the use of pharmacological intervention. For example, exercise prolongs independent mobility and improves sleep, mood, memory and quality of life, all further enhanced through socialisation and multidisciplinary team support. Recent research suggests that optimally prescribed exercise programmes following diagnosis may alter neurophysiological processes, possibly slowing symptom progression.

Given its benefits, professionals should encourage and motivate people with Parkinson’s to exercise regularly from the time of diagnosis and provide guidance on what exercise to do. We provide examples of how the growing body of evidence on exercise for people with Parkinson’s is revolutionising the services they are provided. We also highlight new resources available to help the wider support network (people such as volunteers, partners and friends of people with Parkinson’s) with an interest in exercise promote a consistent message on the benefits of exercise.

  • Parkinson-s disease
  • exercise

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Footnotes

  • Contributors Authorship and contributorship of the three authors is in line with the guideline available online (https://www.bmj.com/about-bmj/resources-authors/article-submission/authorship-contributorship).

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient consent Not required.

  • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; externally peer reviewed by Monica Busse, Cardiff, UK, and Simon Lewis, Sydney, Australia.

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  • Editors’ commentary
    Philip E M Smith Geraint N Fuller