The sudden onset of Parkinson’s disease about two years ago left Geri Pflueger with a lot of anger about what the disease had stolen from her.
The 79-year-old Gulf Breeze woman went from feeling healthy to developing tremors and involuntary muscle contractions that forced her to use a cane, and sometimes a wheelchair.
But she has since found an unconventional way to release some of that emotion: boxing. She’s part of a growing group of Parkinson’s patients who have turned to Rocky Steady classes as a way to cope with the physical symptoms, as well as the emotional tolls, of the degenerative disease.
“I like it a lot because I have a lot of anger in me from getting this disease, and the boxing is a phenomenal way to vent that anger out,” Pflueger said.
Parkinson’s patients experience “tremors, slowness of movements (bradykinesia), limb rigidity and gait and balance problems,” according to the Parkinson’s Foundation. While there is currently no cure, there are options to manage symptoms like medication and surgery.
But three area gyms are offering a different way to manage those symptoms by hosting boxing classes for people who have Parkinson’s.
“Seeing the results and being able to help people is what drew me to it,” said Amy Murph, regional director at Title Boxing Club Pensacola, which began offering the Rocky Steady classes last week.
Rock Steady was launched in Indianapolis in 2006 by Scott C. Newman, a former prosecutor who was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s at just 40 years old. After being introduced to boxing, he saw immediate improvement in his health and quality of life.
The program has adapted boxing drills to improve agility, speed, muscular endurance, accuracy, hand-eye coordination, footwork and overall strength, and training programs are offered for different stages of the disease.
Gym representatives are trained and certified at the Rock Steady headquarters. There are now more than 500 affiliates worldwide, including three on the Gulf Coast.
The program Pflueger attends is Rock Steady Boxing Emerald Coast in Gulf Breeze, which opened two weeks ago. Janis Cook started the program after her husband was diagnosed with Parkinson’s two years ago and a friend told her about Rock Steady.
“As soon as I saw it, I knew we had to do this,” Cook said.
But at the time, the closest gym was in Tallahassee. So Cook — who also owns Ageless Solutions, a wellness center in Navarre — and her son got trained at Rock Steady and found a location, near midway in Gulf Breeze, to open a gym solely focused on the program.
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“They have done a lot of studies and non-contact boxing helps work on voice, balance and stamina,” Cook said. “We also do skills, practice falling in the correct way and practice getting back up. That is a big fear for Parkinson’s patients, not being able to get back up. We also work on what to do when you freeze.”
Cook said the classes are similar to a support group, but they are more action-oriented.
“There is a healthy sense of competition and spurring each other on while laughing,” she said. “It is a sense of doing something for themselves instead of just sitting around waiting to deteriorate. It gives them a sense of hope and sense of control. It’s like a support group of people who are doing different things to help themselves and stay as active as possible.”
