{"id":8887,"date":"2024-10-23T19:09:46","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T19:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nau.edu\/college-health-human-services\/?p=8887"},"modified":"2024-10-23T19:09:29","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T19:09:29","slug":"free-parkinsons-exercise-class-could-slow-progression-of-the-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/college-health-human-services\/news\/free-parkinsons-exercise-class-could-slow-progression-of-the-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Parkinson\u2019s exercise class could slow progression of the disease"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"NAU<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Research shows that regular exercise and social interaction can slow the progression of Parkinson\u2019s disease. A\u00a0free weekly movement class\u00a0being offered this fall at Northern Arizona University provides a healthy dose of both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parkinson\u2019s, a chronic, progressive brain disorder that causes movement problems, affects more than half a million Americans. Almost everyone knows someone with Parkinson\u2019s. For Valerie Carter, a clinical professor in NAU\u2019s Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program, that someone was her mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe was diagnosed at 54 and worked hard and lived well with the disease for 30 years,\u201d Carter said. \u201cShe\u2019s my hero, and she\u2019s why I have focused my research efforts around improving the quality of life for people with Parkinson\u2019s for as long as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by her mother\u2019s journey and informed by her own research, Carter organized a free weekly exercise class at NAU for northern Arizonans who have Parkinson\u2019s, along with Justin Singleton, a physical therapist at Flagstaff Medical Center. Carter said the class is different every week, but recent sessions have involved boxing, pole walking, strength training, functional movement, floor exercises and dance. Carter\u2019s DPT students help out with the class, instructing participants on form and providing encouragement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExercise for persons with Parkinson\u2019s needs to be a combination of skilled movement and moderate to intensive levels of aerobic work,\u201d Carter said. \u201cSlow, small movements and movements with lots of rotation can help address the typical motor symptoms of the disease, like stiffness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teaching exercise classes isn\u2019t the only way Carter and her students show their commitment to creating better lives for people with Parkinson\u2019s. DPT students have raised more than $250,000 since 2007 at their annual\u00a0Go Big for Parkinson\u2019s race<\/a>\u00a0at NAU, happening this year on Saturday, October 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Parkinson\u2019s exercise class is free and open to the public, thanks to a grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. It happens Thursdays from noon to 12:50 p.m. at NAU Building 66, Room 128, 208 E. Pine Knoll Dr. To sign up, contact Carter at\u00a0Valerie.Carter@nau.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A free weekly movement class being offered this fall at NAU provides regular exercise and social interaction can slow the progression of Parkinson\u2019s disease. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":769,"featured_media":8888,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"2normal","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-of-health-and-human-services","category-physical-therapy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/college-health-human-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/college-health-human-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/college-health-human-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/college-health-human-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/769"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/college-health-human-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8887"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/college-health-human-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8896,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/college-health-human-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8887\/revisions\/8896"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/college-health-human-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/college-health-human-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/college-health-human-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/college-health-human-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}