Published On: March 16, 2026
From walking and strength training to yoga and balance work, doctors say regular exercise can ease Parkinson’s symptoms and improve quality of life — and it’s now central to care.
In 2023, when Samantha Dunn was 58, she started to notice subtle changes in her body and the way she moved. Her handwriting became smaller and she had a strange twitch in one of her fingers. She also felt her left leg was weaker than her right. When her cousin mentioned he’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease after experiencing similar symptoms, Samantha had a sinking feeling she had it, too.
After finally receiving the diagnosis — her primary care doctor had initially brushed off her symptoms — the neurologist said that exercise was the prescription. “After that, I was assigned to a movement disorder specialist,” Dunn said, “who further elaborated on the amount of exercise recommended — high intensity, five days a week for a half an hour, plus yoga for balance.”
Dunn, who lives in Southern California, now considers herself lucky. Her exercise routine has grown to include vigorous walking and weight lifting, along with horseback riding. If she has to work long hours at her desk, she takes 10-minute breaks to do push ups or use free weights she keeps nearby.
“Exercising makes a huge difference in my energy level,” she said, adding that it also helps with mental clarity that cuts through her occasional brain fog. She credits yoga for helping her with balance.
Improving symptoms and slowing progression
It was patients like Dunn and their physical therapists who, decades ago, were the first to notice the benefits of exercise on symptoms of Parkinson’s, said John Walsh, Ph.D., associate professor of gerontology and associate dean of education at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, whose research is focused on neuroscience and brain diseases such as Parkinson’s.
Research then confirmed those experiences, Walsh said. A 2022 study from Japan published in the journal Neurology tracked 237 people with early Parkinson’s for five years and found that moderate to vigorous exercise were associated with slower decline of their posture and gait stability.
And a 2024 research review published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry
found that exercise can improve symptoms of Parkinson’s and slow progression of the disease — and even provide protection against getting it, particularly among men. For these reasons researchers said that people with early stage Parkinson’s disease should be prescribed individualized exercise routines, along with medication.
Tremors, moving slowly, stiffness, and brain processing that affects cognition, are symptoms caused by the loss of dopamine neurons in the brains of Parkinson’s patients. But repetitive, high-intensity exercise can improve connections in the brain circuitry that don’t involve dopamine, said Walsh. Furthermore, exercise causes the dopamine cells that have not yet died to work more efficiently, according to Walsh. However, exercising cannot slow the death of dopamine neurons, he added.
A scalable approach to a growing disease
There is no cure for Parkinson’s, and though medications can slow symptoms, some may cause unpleasant side effects. By engaging in a regular exercise program, a patient may be able to lower their medication dose with the guidance of their neurologist, Walsh said.
This is good news for the 1.1 million Americans estimated by the Parkinson’s Foundation to have Parkinson’s, a number that is expected to rise to 1.2 million by 2030. It is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s.
Exercise is free, can be done almost any time, indoors or outside, and is generally safe. It can improve balance which is critical for people with Parkinson’s and may help prevent falling. Walsh said some private gyms now offer classes for people with Parkinson’s who enjoy working out together. And like Dunn, many people diagnosed with Parkinson’s find a movement disorder specialist or physical therapist who can prescribe a customized exercise routine for each individual’s needs.
According to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, movement disorder specialists typically work with each patient’s neurologist as well as speech and occupational therapists, if necessary, and will monitor medications and continually make exercise adjustments. The foundation urges newly diagnosed Parkinson’s patients to find a movement disorder specialist early so they can prepare for potential movement changes in the future.
Nicole Gregory is a health writer who has contributed to many national publications and websites such as Forbes Health, UCLA Health, the Orange County Register among others.
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