Ping-Pong-Parkinson: This is the name of the Germany-wide club for table tennis players who suffer from Parkinson’s. Enthusiastic about sports, but also affected by the illness, Heimrad Jung and Stefan Gries, 2nd chairman of the table tennis community Sigmaringen/Laiz eV (TTG), have now founded a local group of the club for the Sigmaringen district.
Heimrad Jung himself discovered table tennis during a stay in a special clinic. The doctors recommended exercise to relieve his symptoms and the signs of paralysis. After several training sessions, he notices that the affected side of his body actually feels more flexible after exercise.
In Parkinson’s disease, cells in the brain that are responsible for supplying the body with dopamine die. However, the nerve cells need this messenger substance in order to be able to communicate with each other. If a dopamine deficiency occurs as a result of Parkinson’s disease, those affected can only move more slowly, their muscles become stiff or their limbs begin to tremble uncontrollably. Physical fitness, on the other hand, stimulates dopamine production in the body – and thus also promotes mobility. According to Jung, this cannot stop the disease, but it can at least slow down its progression.
“I don’t let the illness dictate my life,” says Jung. In table tennis, the sporty exchange of blows and the need to react quickly require full concentration. He wants to escape the stress of everyday life and illness, at least for a moment. “Table tennis is a great way for me to switch off,” says Jung.
By founding a local group for the Sigmaringen district, the TTG and Jung would like to let other sufferers share in this positive experience. The offer is aimed at all sick people, but also at younger patients. From conversations with other sufferers, Jung reports that people who receive a Parkinson’s diagnosis at a young age often isolate themselves or fall into depression. With the table tennis group, Jung wants to create opportunities for self-help and encourage people to deal openly with their illness: “My goal is to get young people with Parkinson’s disease away from the sofa and onto the table.”
The table tennis group meets every Thursday from 4 p.m. to around 7 p.m. in the sports hall of the Bilharz School in Sigmaringen. A trial training session is possible at any time and without registration.
Further information about the club and Ping-Pong-Parkinson can be found at www.ttg-sigmaringen-laiz.de
