Boxing to treat Parkinson's? Results can be 'life-changing' at this Raynham gym

RAYNHAM — Sixty-year-old Michael Quaglia has been dealing with Parkinson’s disease for 18 years.

His battle with soft voice syndrome, where the disease makes it difficult to speak, is noticeable, but he doesn’t let his illness get him down.

“My life is an open book,” he said softly and smiling.

Quaglia exercises regularly but his training program at Leoncello Boxing Gym, 1776 Broadway in Raynham, has helped him greatly over the last several months when dealing with specific Parkinson’s-related conditions.

Boxing has helped him with balance, which is a "huge issue,” he said, as well as joint stiffness and impaired coordination.

“After I box, my body feels much calmer,” Quaglia said.

He adds the training sessions have also improved his cognitive capabilities and vocal inflection.

“It’s a lifechanging program. The boxing improves their conditions,” said Chad Leoncello, owner of Leoncello Boxing.

The boxing program Quaglia trains with is specifically tailored for people with Parkinson’s and muscular dystrophy.

Leoncello said he started his Boxing & Fitness for Parkinson’s program three months ago after getting certified to run it through the American Parkinson’s Disease Association.

“Not a lot of gyms offer this,” he said, adding his gym is presently the only one within 20 miles offering a fitness program for Parkinson’s patients.

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The inspiration for the new program

Leoncello explained the genesis of his Parkinson’s training program came from two incidents. The first had to do with helping a previous client, starting two-and-a-half years ago, who was immobile. The client didn’t have Parkinson’s, but he suffered from a severe brain injury from an accident that nearly paralyzed him.

Leoncello created a custom program to help him regain mobility.

“He’s walking again,” Leoncello said.

A professional boxer, Leoncello said the second factor was learning of a Parkinson’s fitness program at a gym in Rhode Island where he was training for a boxing match. Upon learning about the program, he thought he could help build his own program for Parkinson’s patients, like the program he built for the client with the brain injury.

“I have a passion to help people with it,” Leoncello said.

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Why it works

Organizations like the American Parkinson’s Disease Association and Parkinson’s Foundation say targeted exercise can help alleviate symptoms and slow the degenerative nature, such as muscle atrophy, of the illness.

Leoncello's and other gyms across the country are incorporating programming centered on Parkinson’s symptoms because boxing training already caters to addressing some of these needs, like balance, motor skills, hand-eye coordination, endurance, strength and agility.

Plus, Leoncello said it’s fun to hit the bags, as boxing is great with the releasing of endorphins.

Cathy Wesalowski, 69, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s 11 years ago.

“It keeps me on my toes,” she said about training here.

In the two months she’s taken part in Leoncello’s Parkinson’s program Wesalowski said it has helped significantly with her balance, among other things.

“I’m not rigid. I can extend my arms now. I’m also not tripping over myself anymore,” she said.

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What a workout looks like

Currently, Leoncello holds 45-minute sessions three times a week at his gym for those with Parkinson’s and muscular dystrophy.  Each session is different from the other, he said.

“I put their bodies to work," Leoncello said.

The Gazette observed a session with Quaglia and Wesalowski.

Strength and basic conditioning are addressed with exercises like weightlifting and timed endurance tests.

Squatting on exercise balls is used for addressing balance and posture. Leoncello explained that, with many people with Parkinson’s, their posture falls inward.

“This forces you to correct your posture, or you will fall off the ball,” Leoncello said.

The actual boxing components, whether when hitting the bag or hitting the trainer’s hands in the ring, are meant to address motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Punching combinations are also incorporated to address mental acuity.

Mental exercises are a big component to the Boxing & Fitness for Parkinson’s program.

One exercise both Quaglia and Wesalowski do in their sessions entails attaching five multi-colored tap lights on one of the gym’s mirrors, and, with the trainer using a mobile phone application, activating each light at different intervals, whether random or in a pattern. The trainee has to observe and touch the light when it goes on.  Sometimes the wrong-colored light will go on, tricking the trainee.

Trainer and co-owner of the gym Brieanna Resendes explained these mental exercises help with cognitive skills and memory recall, depending on the variation of the light exercise.

“Overall, it helps them retain focus,” she said.

For more information on Boxing & Fitness for Parkinson's

To learn more about this Boxing & Fitness for Parkinson's program, contact Leoncello Boxing in Raynham at [email protected] or visit https://www.leoncelloboxing.com/new-page.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: At Raynham gym, boxing can be 'life-changing' for Parkinson's patients