Rallying Against Parkinson’ s
The fastest-growing sport is giving patients a competitive edge in their fight.
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by MATTHEW SCHWARTZ
In September 2006, Scott Rider was diagnosed with Parkinson’ s disease. He was 47, a former All-American track star in the 800-meter at Ohio State University. He was still running 5 to 7 miles almost every day and bicycling regularly near his home in Beaufort, South Carolina.
Upon hearing the diagnosis, Rider says,“ I thought my life was over. I wondered how my wife and three children would react to the news. I wondered if I would be able to continue to financially support my family.”
When the initial shock wore off, Rider’ s competitive nature took over.“ Athletics helped me understand that when challenges arise, I have a choice. Give up and quit, or learn from the setbacks and work to improve.”
There’ s an often-used saying,“ Pickleball changed my life.” It is especially true for Rider and an untold number of the 1.1 million Americans with Parkinson’ s who have discovered the sport.
Parkinson’ s is a neurodegenerative disorder that predominantly affects dopamine-producing neurons in a specific area of the brain. Symptoms include hand tremors, slowness of movement, limb stiffness, balance problems and depression. Parkinson’ s also affects speech by impairing the muscles and coordination needed for speaking. People with the disease often have a soft monotone voice, so yelling out the score in a pickleball game can be challenging.
One person in the U. S. is diagnosed with the disease every six minutes, according to the Parkinson’ s Foundation. Although there is no cure, treatment options include medications and lifestyle adjustments, including exercise.
Rider made the adjustments. Playing pickleball was a major one.
While riding his bicycle past pickleball courts near his home in 2020, he stopped and watched for a while, then asked if he could join in. Rider loved the sport immediately.
“ What I specifically enjoy about pickleball is that it is competitive— there is a winner and a loser. I find it very enjoyable to participate in a physical activity that involves keeping score.
“ Pickleball helps me to work on being focused,” he adds.“ For many people who are battling Parkinson’ s, multitasking— staying on track, so to speak— is a challenge. When I am on the court, I need to be present to succeed. This sounds trivial but is a challenge. Pickleball presents me with the opportunity to move my feet and arms and requires hand-eye coordination, all things that are helpful in the fight against Parkinson’ s.”
Dr. Vanessa Hinson, professor of neurology and director of the Movement Disorders Division at the Medical University of South Carolina( MUSC), says,“ Regular intense exercise is the only intervention that has shown to slow the progression of Parkinson’ s. Pickleball has all the right elements to benefit a person with Parkinson’ s by promoting quick reaction time, visuospatial awareness, fluid motions, agility and balance. As an additional bonus, scorekeeping will help with memory and voice.”
Rider began playing pickleball regularly, and then the former financial planner had an idea: He thought it would help people with Parkinson’ s if there were instructors who were trained specifically how to teach pickleball to them. While on a trip to Idaho, he walked into the offices of Selkirk Sport and asked to see the owners. They were out, but the company got back to him. Selkirk loved the idea.
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