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VOA慢速英语2015 治疗帕金森的简单方法:锻炼

时间:2015-02-24 14:58:02

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(单词翻译)

A Simple Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease: Exercise

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health and Lifestyle Report.

More than six million people around the world suffer from Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease makes patients shake and their muscles difficult to move. The disease is incurable1 and only gets worse over time. Parkinson’s usually affects older people.

Current treatments for Parkinson’s are medicine and surgery. But lately many doctors and patients have become interested in a treatment that is simple, does not cost much and seems to be very effective. That treatment is exercise.

"Pick it back up. Put it down. Right leg. Straight arm. Way back. one ... two ... three ..."

What you hear are 20 senior citizens exercising. They stretch their arms forward and then swing them far back. The instructor2 watching them closely is a 75-year-old man named Gary Sobel.

"Here we go! Catch! Hurl3!..."

Mr. Sobel shows the class how to catch and throw -- or, as he says, hurl -- an imaginary ball. Everyone follows his instructions. But many of the students cannot stop their hands and feet from shaking. And some cannot straighten their bodies.

Everyone in the class has Parkinson's disease -- everyone -- even the instructor.

Parkinson's disease is an incurable brain, or neurologic, condition that can make walking and keeping your balance difficult. So, many patients avoid exercise. But these students exercise several times a week.

They say the exercise helps the symptoms of Parkinson’s. But they also come for another reason -- the friendship.

An instructor who understands

The exercise classes have been important for the instructor, too. When he was younger, Mr. Sobel was an athlete. In his early 60s, he was still running in long races. But in 2008, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.  

The condition became severe. He could not get out of bed without help. He could not walk easily. He could not drive a car.

"Walking was a problem because I would trip and fall. Getting in and out of a car - I couldn't drive anymore because my reflexes were too slow. I didn't trust myself if I had to make a sudden stop, you're just too slow with your movements."

Doctors told Mr. Sobel the best way to avoid accidents and injury was to avoid exercise.

"In 2008 when you were diagnosed, you were told not to crack a sweat, take it easy. I'm serious."

So Mr. Sobel stopped exercising. He also avoided medications because he was scared of the side effects, the bad things they might cause. Then one day, his hands were shaking so much, he could not sign his name to pay a bill.

"I hit bottom that day, and I said, this is absolutely ridiculous, that I can't even write a check."

After this happened Mr. Sobel started to take low doses of Parkinson's medicine to reduce the shaking. Once the shaking lessened4 he started squeezing water from wet towels to strengthen his hands. That simple exercise worked.

"It took about six weeks and I could write a check better than I ever did."

Mr. Sobel decided5 to build on his success. He moved on to exercises to strengthen his legs. Then he decided he wanted to help others. So, he trained to be an instructor.

Mr. Sobel has been teaching exercise classes for three years. In that time, he has helped thousands of people with Parkinson's.

In this class, he is teaching students how to walk fast, how to stop fast and even how to walk backwards6.

"..in the count of three. One, two, three ... Stop!"

He says he pushes all his students to do more than they think they can.

"I want them tired. At the end of the day, I ask them if they're tired, and if they say 'yes,' I'm happy."

The medical community noticed the success stories of Mr. Sobel and other Parkinson’s patients who exercised.

Heather Ene, Parkinson's researcherHeather Ene, Parkinson's researcher

Doctor Heather Ene is a doctor at the University of Colorado. She specializes in movement disorders7. She explains that many people have made a philosophical8 shift, or a change of thinking, about exercise and Parkinson’s disease.

"There's been a complete shift towards exercise as a mainstay in Parkinson's disease."

Ms. Ene says new research about Parkinson's is making doctors change their advice to patients. Now, doctors are telling people with Parkinson’s to exercise longer, more often and at higher intensity9. She says exercise may help people remain more active for longer.

"It's not necessarily going to slow the disease progression such that people don't need medications. In fact, it's very unlikely that it's going to create that much difference. But it can be very helpful in slowing the transition to disability. That's part of what we're trying to do."

And, Dr. Ene says Mr. Sobel’s exercise classes help the students with more than their physical health. She says the classes help students emotionally. They give the people a community. Students exercise among others with Parkinson's and learn from a man with Parkinson's.

"Five on the left. Five on the right. Are you ready? Here we go! Stop! Lift! Last one ... Stop! Lift! Stop! Lift!"

Back in the class, Mr. Sobel says the classes have also helped him fight this degenerative disease, a disease that gets worse over time.

"This is a degenerative disease that can get nasty. But I'm winning the battle right now, and I don't know how long I can continue to win the battle, but I'll do what I can."

As part of doing what he can, Mr. Sobel has trained over 100 instructors10 throughout the United States. These instructors use his methods of leading Parkinson's exercise classes. He has also helped start other classes for people with Parkinson's. These classes include yoga, Tai Chi and dancing.

Words in This Story

patients – n. people who receive medical care or treatment

stretch – v. to move your muscles in a way that makes them long and tight

swing – v. to move with a smooth, curving motion

reflexes – n. actions or movements of the body that happen automatically as a reaction to something

hit bottom– v. expression reach the lowest possible level or point

degenerative - adj. medical causing the body or part of the body to become weaker or less able to function as time passes


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1 incurable incurable     
adj.不能医治的,不能矫正的,无救的;n.不治的病人,无救的人
参考例句:
  • All three babies were born with an incurable heart condition.三个婴儿都有不可治瘉的先天性心脏病。
  • He has an incurable and widespread nepotism.他们有不可救药的,到处蔓延的裙带主义。
2 instructor D6GxY     
n.指导者,教员,教练
参考例句:
  • The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
  • The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。
3 hurl Yc4zy     
vt.猛投,力掷,声叫骂
参考例句:
  • The best cure for unhappiness is to hurl yourself into your work.医治愁苦的最好办法就是全身心地投入工作。
  • To hurl abuse is no way to fight.谩骂决不是战斗。
4 lessened 6351a909991322c8a53dc9baa69dda6f     
减少的,减弱的
参考例句:
  • Listening to the speech through an interpreter lessened its impact somewhat. 演讲辞通过翻译的嘴说出来,多少削弱了演讲的力量。
  • The flight to suburbia lessened the number of middle-class families living within the city. 随着迁往郊外的风行,住在城内的中产家庭减少了。
5 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
6 backwards BP9ya     
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地
参考例句:
  • He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
  • All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。
7 disorders 6e49dcafe3638183c823d3aa5b12b010     
n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 );凌乱;骚乱;(身心、机能)失调
参考例句:
  • Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告,厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 philosophical rN5xh     
adj.哲学家的,哲学上的,达观的
参考例句:
  • The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
  • She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。
9 intensity 45Ixd     
n.强烈,剧烈;强度;烈度
参考例句:
  • I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
  • The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。
10 instructors 5ea75ff41aa7350c0e6ef0bd07031aa4     
指导者,教师( instructor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The instructors were slacking on the job. 教员们对工作松松垮垮。
  • He was invited to sit on the rostrum as a representative of extramural instructors. 他以校外辅导员身份,被邀请到主席台上。

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