Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Parkinson's Disease And Exercise: Steps Into A Hopeful Future, Jacob Barker

Spring Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

In the world of medicine and disease interventions, exercise is too often underlooked as a viable form of treatment or complementary treatment to medication. This is especially true with Parkinson’s Disease, a disease that attacks the basal ganglia of the brain and impairs neuromuscular function. In my analysis, I read a perspective from a PD patient, Gerry Hill, who has struggled with the disease himself and how he used physical activity to aid in his battle with the disease for both physical and psychological aid. Additionally, I performed research to understand how exercise benefits function within the brain. Aerobic exercise, …