An indoor cycling studio in Mansfield is doing what medicine can't for people with Parkinson's disease, a neurological disorder that affects movement, causes tremors and muscle stiffness and gets worse over time.
Willie Brezell is the most active he's been in years, despite being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease 10 years ago.
"Before, I couldn't walk a flight of stairs. I couldn't cook. I couldn't do really anything," Brezell said. "Now, with my body feeling so much better, so much more energetic, I tackle problems that I shied away from."
His miracle medicine is cycling.
Doctors say research has shown cycling helps stop symptoms of Parkinson's and can even slow down the progression of the disease itself.
"There's something repetitive about the cycling, where you're going in a forward motion, repetitively, again and again, and that must force a certain change in circuitry in the brain, and so for patients that are consistent cyclers we can see the benefit over time," said Dr. Robert Nieto, a neurologist at Methodist Mansfield Hospital.
Brezell's close family friend, Sherry McCullouch, owns a Cyclone Indoor Cycling Experience studio in Mansfield.
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"It was my duty and my calling to step out on faith and say, 'OK, I can help this cause and I can bring this cause to light," McCullouch said.
She introduced Brezell to cycling one year ago, and the results have been nothing short of amazing.
"His tremors have gone down. He has more mobility. He's able to speak better. He's able to walk better. He's doing three flights of stairs now, and so it's tremendous," McCullouch said.
Nieto now refers his Parkinson's patients to McCullouch's free classes just for Parkinson's patients.
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