Grand Island residents pack a big punch
March 1, 2019
Powerful things are happening in Grand Island! Ashlyn Cramer is a physical therapist at the Grand Island Balance, Mobility, and Aquatic Therapy Center in Grand Island, Nebraska. After several local residents expressed a need for a Rock Steady Boxing class in Grand Island, Parkinson’s Nebraska helped Ashlyn participate in the Rock Steady Boxing Coaches Training Camp in June of 2018.
We were lucky enough to catch up with Ashlyn and see how her training has impacted the Grand Island Parkinson’s community. She describes the program as an opportunity to “incorporate strength, agility, balance, fine motor control, cognition, community and fun into one program targeted at “Fighting Back Against Parkinson’s” and the daily impairments people struggle with when living with this disease”. As a physical therapist, she has enjoyed sharing this program with her patients who are ready to be discharged to a home-based or community program.
The first class in Grand Island began in November of 2018 with 5 boxers. Within the last three months, the class has grown to 15 boxers. The class has boxers, or fighters as Ashlyn calls them, with varied impairments and severities of symptoms. The trainers are sure to incorporate a lot of fun while targeting each individual’s functional barriers to daily life. Many of the fighters have reported “strength and stability gains along with improved energy, increased mood/sense of support within the group, and even improved capability for completing fine motor tasks like buttoning shirts, writing, and managing small objects”.
Not only does Ashlyn share this program with her class, she uses it to spread awareness throughout the entire Grand Island community. She says has “attended support group meetings, shared this opportunity with local physicians/neurologists, and have even been able to spread public awareness about the disease and the benefits of this class through local news/media sources”. Check out article from NebraskaTV below.
The Rock Steady Boxing classes are led by Ashlyn and Kasady, a PT Tech, and meet at the Downtown YMCA in Grand Island, Nebraska on the following days:
Tuesday & Thursday: 10:00 am- 11:00 am
Monday & Friday: 11:00 am- 12:00 pm
Contact the Grand Island Balance, Mobility, and Aquatic Therapy Center at 308-398-2170 for questions about the class or to set up an initial evaluation for a one-time fee of $75 (which includes education on the program, initial assessment, and boxing wraps/gloves).
Once an evaluation is completed, boxers can attend class as many times a week as they’d like with a YMCA membership. Membership pricing options can be discussed with Grand Island YMCA at 308-395-9622.