Parkinson’s England team want law-makers to join a health kick

There’s a very special match being played tomorrow, between a parliamentary team made up of footballer MPs and peers, against the England Parkinson’s walking football team.

One of the players in the England team is Croydon resident Seth Gillman, who made his international debut on the team’s trip to Spain last October.

Tomorrow’s big match is to raise awareness amongst the nation’s lawmakers of the benefits of regular exercise and activity for People with Parkinson’s, or PwP.

“This is probably the most important game I’ll ever play in,” Gillman told Inside Croydon.

“We want the MPs and peers to see what exercise has done for this team of PwP.”

The England Parkinson’s walking football team is made up of players all of whom have a diagnosis of Parkinson’s, an incurable neurological condition which causes symptoms such as tremor, slow movement and stiffness. They have all found their symptoms improved after beginning to play sport regularly. And they are passionate about bringing this message to the nation’s centre of power.

“We want the parliamentarians to see what exercise has done for us and for that awareness to be translated into government policy,” Gillman said.

“We could save the NHS millions every year, and hugely improve the lives of PwP and their families, if exercise was an integrated and essential part of Parkinson’s treatment.”

Although football is Palace fan Gillman’s passion, he says that any physical activity will help Parkinson’s patients. “It can literally be anything,” he says.

“As long as it gets your body moving, it will help. There are classes and activities popping up all round the country which can suit PwP of any age and with any severity of the condition.”

As well as the physical benefits, Gillman says there are psychological and social advantages of exercise, too.

“You’re not just a patient, you’re a teammate and part of a community. Since I took up walking football my world has expanded and I feel a million times better emotionally as well as physically.

“If the NHS prescribed exercise alongside medication and other treatments, the country would benefit from the money saved, and PwP wouldn’t feel so isolated and lost.”

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