Parkinson’s boxing is becoming more and more popular: “You will feel your strength again”

The elements of the sport of boxing help slow down the disease process. (Photo: Robbert van Cleef)

Parkinson’s boxing is possible in more and more places in the Netherlands. This can help people with Parkinson’s better control their disease, as the elements of sport help slow down the disease process. The sport came from the USA and can now be played in Leiden. A number of patients meet regularly at a boxing gym in the Haven and there they feel like a fish in water.

A small club of people with Parkinson’s disease meets weekly around trainer Harm Vissers at the boxing gym. After a short warm-up, the boxing gloves are put on and the first punches fall. Against a punching bag, not against each other. There are also two-man fights, but there are no body shots. “You will feel your strength again,” says participant Margreet. “Because your powers are actually slowly but surely fading.” And if you’re here boxing, you can beat the whole world.

broken cells
Parkinson’s disease causes the cells that make dopamine in your brain to slowly break down. This can cause all sorts of complaints, such as difficulty moving and problems thinking. Medications can relieve stiffness, sluggishness, and tremors, but they cannot stop them. Parkinson’s Boxing has been specially developed for people with Parkinson’s disease. At the heart of it, boxing drills are done without physical contact.

“Plus, we’re often involved in double-tasking, so you’re doing multiple things at the same time,” says trainer Harm Vissers. “It’s often difficult for people with Parkinson’s disease, and that’s precisely what makes these trainings so valuable. Because with boxing, you do a lot of things at the same time: for example, you punch, and then you move at the same time.

To delay
“Your whole body is in motion”, explains Carolien, participant. “I come here to keep in shape because walking is very difficult. And I can also practice these double tasks here. It’s quite difficult to box and score at the same time.

According to neurologist Bas Bloem from the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, boxing can slow down Parkinson’s disease. “Boxing is of course really something where you have to keep your balance, keep an eye on the opponent and also throw punches. Boxing is therefore an excellent sport for these dual tasks.

Leiden Sports Society