Parkinson’s Disease
Three former athletes who now suffer from Parkinson’s Disease include NHL Hall of Famer Forrest Gregg, heavyweight champion Muhammed Ali, and NBA great Brian Grant. Each of these men suffered from repeated head and neck traumas that eventually resulted in Parkinson’s Disease.
While many people know what this debilitating disease is, they may not know exactly what is happening to the person who suffers from it. It’s a chronic and degenerative neurological disorder tat causes a person’s brain cells to dies.
More specifically, it causes those brain cells that release a neurotransmitter called dopamine to die. Not all patients react the same, but it will lead to some sort of motor impairment. Here is a list of symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease:
Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease
- Tremors
- Slowed movements
- Postural Instability
- Loss of Balance
- Mood Disorders (Depression or Anxiety)
- Sleep disturbances and fatigue
- Difficulty with speech
- Problems swallowing
- Cognitive problems (Mild memory problems to Dementia)
While it could be easy for use and for those athletes above to assume their Parkinson’s disease is due to multiple concussions and blows to the head they suffered during their careers, there is also good reason to believe their strenuous physical contact over the years only triggered a condition that had laid dormant within them for many years.
While NFL Hall of Famer Forrest Gregg of the Green Bay Packers and his team of Neurologists say the multiple concussions he suffered led to his Parkinson’s Disease, he is not suing the NFL. Gregg’s neurologist, Dr. Rajeev Kumar, an expert in Parkinson’s Disease and the medical director of the Colorado Neurological Institute’s Movement Disorders Center in Denver, said it is likely that those multiple concussions throughout his career only triggered an already dormant Parkinson’s Disease.
As far as Ali, many people assume his fight in 1980 with Larry Holmes, in which he attempted to secure a 4th Heavyweight Boxing Championship at 38 years of age, caused his Parkinson’s disease. Holmes beat Ali in 10 rounds, but he had suffered from slurred speech and deteriorating motor skills well before even the fight began. Because of those symptoms, Ali had received treatment for Parkinson’s well before his fight with Holmes, but that is the part of the story that is often ignored.
In an article in the Huffington Post, former NBA basketball player Brian Grant of the Portland Trailblazers spoke out on his recent diagnosis with Parkinson’s Disease. Basketball is not generally thought of as a contact sport, but he is known as a very physical player. He suffered varioius head and neck injuries throughout his career.
In the article, Grant states, “As of today, there is no known cure for Parkinson’s, which for Grant is one of the most troubling parts of the disease. “It’s something that I’m going to have to live with, and it will never go away,” he says. “Emotionally, that’s devastating.”
Hope for those with Parkinson’s Disease
While all three of these men were outstanding athletes, and it would be easy to attribute their Parkinson’s Disease with their chosen sport, there is also reason to believe their chosen sports only triggered an already existent condition.
Next time, we’ll talk about the research that’s been done to reveal the connection to the upper neck and Parkinson’s Disease. We’ll also talk more about how upper cervical chiropractic—a specific and gentle type of chiropractic that focuses on aligning the upper neck vertebrae—enables the brain to communicate with the body.
To find an upper cervical specialist in your area go to http://www.NUCCA.org/ or if you are in the Chicago, Illinois area click the button below to schedule a consultation:
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Dr. Young Chung of NUCCA Wellness Clinic of Chicago, with a location in Chicago and a 2nd location in Wheeling is an Upper Cervical Specialist trained by the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA). His upper cervical clinic also serves Northbrook, Long Grove, Lincolnshire, Buffalo Grove and Vernon Hills. He is uniquely trained to correct problems in the upper cervical spine (upper neck). This vital area is intimately connected to the central nervous system and problems in this area have been shown to be an underlying cause of a variety of different health problems, including migraines and other headaches, whiplash injuries, post-concussion syndrome. This type of care has also shown benefits for athletic performance and pregnancy outcomes. More information can be found on our website at http://www.NUCCAwellnessChicago.com/
