Juneau Parkinson's patients use boxing to treat symptoms

JUNEAU (AP) – Twice a week, seven Juneau residents with Parkinson’s disease go through a transformation.

“Once they go through this door, they are no longer Parkinson’s patients _ they’re fighters,” trainer Kirk Burke said.

Inside the upstairs workout room at Pavitt Health and Fitness Center, Luann McVey, whose husband Richard Steele has Parkinson’s disease, led the group of seven participants in yoga to warm them up for “Rock Steady Boxing.”

These “fighters” don’t jump into a ring to square off against another flesh and blood opponent. Instead, they do a circuit of boxing exercises to beat ba...