Rock climbing can help people with Parkinson’s, here’s how

(InvestigateTV) — Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s, affecting more than 10 million people worldwide, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Driven by an aging population and environmental factors, cases are expected to reach 12 million by 2040, the NIH reports.

Parkinson’s is considered a major public health crisis, with few treatment options and no cure.

But some patients living with the disease say an unusual therapy is improving their balance, mobility, strength and cognition: rock climbing.

A search for a gym

Jonathan Lessin, a retired physician, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease more than 20 years ago.

He started searching for a climbing gym that would let him climb and heard no after no.

“I don’t really understand how it can make you feel so good, but when you have Parkinson’s, your world becomes smaller and you make smaller movements,” Lessin said. “And when you get on the wall here, you can just stretch out and when you get to the top, you feel fantastic.”

Lessin eventually found Molly Donelan-Cupka, then the director of SportRock Climbing Centers in Alexandria, Virginia.

“Gosh, it’s crazy to me that people said no to him,” Donelan-Cupka said.

Donelan-Cupka started climbing with Lessin twice a week.

“It keeps you stretched out and does cognitive work. It’s kind of cool because you’re on the wall. I need to figure out a puzzle,” Lessin said.

Doctors often prescribe exercise for Parkinson’s patients. Climbing targets what the disease attacks: balance, coordination and muscle strength.

From two climbers to a nonprofit

The group of climbers grew from two to five, then six, then more.

“We have 72 locations now. And I mean, even in the last year, I was just looking at our numbers last night and I’m like, we’re at over like 1,300 climbers. And we were at like 400 this time last year,” Donelan-Cupka said.

Donelan-Cupka turned the program into a nonprofit called Up Ending Parkinson’s. Now 1,300 climbers across the country are part of the program, including Mark and Betsy DeMulder.

“I can do most of the things I’ve always done and it’s because we’ve delayed the onset of the more serious symptoms and I think it’s through exercise like climbing,” Mark DeMulder said.

“Even though the most obvious parts of Parkinson’s are the physical shaking, the other things that are not obvious at all necessarily are anxiety, depression, apathy and that really makes a huge difference to come here and to have the sense of I can do this, I’m good at this,” Betsy DeMulder said.

The coolest part of the program for Donelan-Cupka is the happiness people get from climbing “and the joy they get out of it and the friends they make.”

Research shows improvement

Donelan-Cupka partnered with the National Institutes of Health on a study to test whether the program works. The results showed climbers had improvement in mobility and balance.

“There were so many improvements, I’ve seen it from everybody in the group,” Donelan-Cupka said.

Donelan-Cupka does not have Parkinson’s, and no one in her family has the disease.

“Seeing how much it helped people and then that learning why it was helping them and making that make sense, and then realizing there’s not anything out there like that and you know about it and you have the ability to do something, it’s like, I felt like I had to do something about it,” Donelan-Cupka said.

Lessin said his experience finding a gym willing to work with him carries a broader lesson.

“I found that one yes,” Lessin said.

“All we need is one,” Alfarone said.

“Yes, in a sea of nos,” Lessin said.

Research has shown climbing rock walls can benefit people with neurological conditions other than Parkinson’s. Research found climbing helped improve some symptoms of multiple sclerosis and can contribute to an enhanced quality of life.

For adults and children with cerebral palsy, therapeutic climbing can improve motor ability and movement.

Experts say people should talk to their neurologist before joining any climbing program.