Parkinson’s Disease Patients and the Perception of Their Symptoms With Participation in Rock Steady Boxing
There is a wide body of knowledge on the effects that the fitness boxing program, Rock Steady Boxing, has on Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patient’s symptoms; however, there is a lack of knowledge on how participants in the program perceive their symptoms after participation. This paper explores the perception of participants in Boxing Club A’s adaptation of the Rock Steady Boxing program. Participants were given a pen and paper survey that consisted of background information on their diagnosis, how Rock Steady Boxing has affected participants (in the form of open-ended response questions), and how participants perceive certain symptoms before their participation in the Rock Steady class compared to present day (in the form of likert scale questions). The main findings were the following: For the majority of symptoms tested, the mean value after participation was lower than the mean value before participation. For all of the symptoms, the Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.4 or higher, showing anywhere from a moderate correlation to a very high correlation. Four themes from the qualitative data were developed: 1.) Rock Steady Boxing improves the mental health and capabilities of participants, 2.) Rock Steady Boxing provides a sense of comradery to participants, 3.) Rock Steady Boxing improves a participant's ability to move, and 4.) Symptoms become less severe after participating in Rock Steady Boxing. With more extensive research, the field of study could find the connection between the perception of one’s PD symptoms and Rock Steady Boxing, while factoring out medication use.