Lethbridge Herald, June 15, 2024.
Herald photo by Alexandra Noad Megan Welther, Alyssa Edwards, Dean Stewart and Tysann Tallman are volunteer coaches with Lethbridge Dopamine Boxing.Alexandra Noade
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A local man is teaching boxing to people with Parkinson's disease in an effort to improve their quality of life.
In 2017, Christopher Campbell was approached by Dr. John Doan, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Lethbridge, to create a boxing class for people with Parkinson's disease. This style of boxing is known as Dopamine Boxing.
According to Parkinsonfoundation.org, dopamine boxing helps improve strength, posture, hand-eye coordination, balance and reaction time.
Campbell says he has seen plenty of examples that demonstrate the benefits of dopamine boxing.
“I can give you a whole host of examples right away, from not being able to hold their head up or get dressed to not being able to keep up with daily activities and having to bring their spouse along,” Campbell said.
Dopamine Boxing also provides internship opportunities for university students and is the only multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease program south of Calgary.
Dean Stewart, a neuroscience student at the University of Lethbridge, said he's able to look at people beyond their diagnosis.
“[Parkinson’s disease] “It's a neurodegenerative disease, but it's so much more. They're human beings and they have the opportunity to work, learn, grow and participate in physical activity,” Stewart said.
Megan Walther, who has a degree in exercise physiology, said working with clients has improved her communication skills.
“My communication skills have improved a lot. When I have to work one-on-one, I need to make sure the other person really understands what I'm saying. Good signal words and creating great reports with clients are very important,” Walther said.
Walther hopes to continue working with people who have limited mobility in the form of physical therapy.
The classes are held three times a week at Sik-Ooh-Kotoki Frienship Society, a venue that helps create programming for Indigenous youth.
Blackfoot coach Tysan Tallman said the boxing classes helped him connect with his cultural roots.
“I think there's a real opportunity to make a difference in the world by being based and working in Southern Alberta,” Tallman said.
Campbell also hosts evening boxing classes that cost $30 a month but are free for women and girls, and she says she believes everyone should learn how to protect themselves.
“Having the security of knowing that at least ultimately you can protect yourself or know how to protect yourself instills a level of agency that gives people freedom,” Campbell said.
Campbell is hoping the dopamine boxing in Lethbridge will get him through.
“I want this to be bigger than me. I want it to outlive me,” Campbell said.
Campbell is currently working on plans to open the movement disorder center in the fall of 2024.
For more information about Dopamine Boxing, visit lethbridgedopamineboxing.ca
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