Objective: To compare demographics, self-reported symptom burden, Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL), and Exercise Self-Efficacy (ESE) between Rock Steady Boxing (RSB) participants and non-participants.
Background: RSB is a non-contact boxing program for individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The groups focus on agility, balance, and speed training.
Method: Adults with PD who had heard of RSB completed a 20 minute, 61-question anonymous electronic survey that included the Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39) measure of HRQL and the Self-Efficacy for Exercise (SEE) scale. Participants were recruited from 7/2018 to 2/2019 with survey distribution through e-mail and social media. Differences between participants and never-participants were analyzed using chi-squared test or fisher’s exact test for categorical variables and Wilcoxon test for continuous variables.
Results: Of 2,054 individuals enrolled in the survey, 1,709 were eligible for analysis. 1,333 were current participants, 166 previous-participants, and 210 never-participants. RSB participants were median age 69, 59% male, and 97% Caucasian. Compared to never-participants, more participants were retired (76 vs 66%, p<0.01). The majority of current participants reported that RSB improved their social life (70%), fatigue (63%), fear of falling (62%), depression (60%), and anxiety (59%). Compared to previous and never-participants, current participants had better median PDQ-39 scores (36 and 32 vs 25, p <0.01) and SEE scores (43 and 48 vs 54, p <0.01). 99% of current participants would recommend RSB.
Conclusion: This is the largest survey of RSB use in PD. RSB participants report improvement in non-motor symptoms, and have significantly better HRQL and ESE compared to never-participants.
References: Previous Presentation: American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting. April 2020.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
D. Larson, D. Bega, M. Rafferty, C. Yeh. High Satisfaction and Improved Quality of Life with Rock Steady Boxing in Parkinson’s Disease [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2020; 35 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/high-satisfaction-and-improved-quality-of-life-with-rock-steady-boxing-in-parkinsons-disease/. Accessed June 15, 2025.« Back to MDS Virtual Congress 2020
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/high-satisfaction-and-improved-quality-of-life-with-rock-steady-boxing-in-parkinsons-disease/