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Parkinson’s boxing program moves to Ringgold

Photo contributed by Kristen Schillaci / The Rock Steady program is open to men and women of all ages who have been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Local affiilate owner Kristen Schillaci asks participants to commit to coming until they are physically no longer able, and uses her background as a certified occupational therapy assistant to modify the exercises. "The only … problem that prevents people from sticking it out is when they need assistance, they need a corner man and have to have someone come with them every single time," she said. Volunteers are welcome. Photo contributed by Kristen Schillaci / The Rock Steady program is open to men and women of all ages who have been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Local affiilate owner Kristen Schillaci asks participants to commit to coming until they are physically no longer able, and uses her background as a certified occupational therapy assistant to modify the exercises. "The only … problem that prevents people from sticking it out is when they need assistance, they need a corner man and have to have someone come with them every single time," she said. Volunteers are welcome.

By Jennifer Bardoner July 8, 2020 4 min read

The national Parkinson’s Foundation estimates there are nearly 1 million people living with the degenerative disease across the country. According to Kristen Schillaci, a local certified occupational therapy assistant, Dalton sees an extremely high percentage of cases.

That’s not the reason she recently moved her Parkinson’s-centered boxing program to neighboring Ringgold, but it doesn’t hurt. Having outgrown her space in Chattanooga, where she launched the area’s first affiliate of the Rock Steady non-contact boxing program four years ago, she did need more room for participants, but that included her existing ones.

“I had one boxer say ‘I’m not going to come back on Monday because it’s too crowded,'” Schillaci said.

The 14,000-square-foot gym she’s in now not only allows the participants more room to spread out, it has 10 times the equipment, an MMA cage that doubles as a boxing ring, and multiple floor surfaces “so all my folks are in sock feet or bare feet, which I love,” said Schillaci.

Parkinson’s is a neurological disorder that affects movement, so Schillaci focuses her 90-minute workouts on gross motor skills while incorporating a variety of activities such as cycling and stretching.