Can boxing relieve symptoms of Parkinson's disease and improve quality of life? A qualitative study of the experiences of participants attending the Danish Parkinson boxing concept.

PURPOSE: To explore how people with Parkinson's (PwP) experience the impact of attending Parkinson Boxing (PB) on their symptoms and quality of life.

METHODS: The authors NMAY and PeB conducted participant observations of four PB sessions and eight semi-structured interviews with PwP who participated in PB in Denmark. The empirical material was systematically analyzed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS: Four main themes arose. The participants experience a sense of community from being part of a group where they share the same diagnosis. They described various bodily experiences related to their physical and cognitive functioning and well-being, as well as emotional experiences including feelings of joy, gratitude, and mental well-being. They are motivated to participate in the training sessions, and participation further motivates them to retain their exercise practice.

CONCLUSIONS: The experienced impact of participating in PB relates to physical relief of symptoms and improved functioning in everyday life, as well as a mental lift, energy, and joy during and after training sessions. Participants described being motivated to attend PB and to continue their training practice. Thus, PB entails experiences of relief of symptoms and presumably improved quality of life for the participants.