'Ping pong helps my Parkinson's symptoms'

Leona found a passion for table tennis after her diagnosis

An Ayrshire woman with Parkinson's Disease says playing ping pong helps her symptoms.

Leona Braund was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's at just 38 and was told she would have to rely on a wheelchair within 10 years.

Now at the age of 48, she has won medals playing table tennis at the national Parkinson's championships and hopes to help others get involved as well.

She told BBC Scotland the sport had helped her regain control of her life.

The former PE teacher trains weekly in Drumchapel and helped set up the Parkinson's Scottish Table Tennis Association.

The association held its second UK national championship in Scotland in the first weekend of August.

'Benefits are so great'

Leona started playing table tennis two years ago.

She told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "With Parkinson's, there are motor and non-motor symptoms and one issue I have is that I freeze and get stuck.

"So I started doing movement work with specialists and we were looking at improving footwork and movement.

"A lot of that is about stance and weight distribution, which has improved because I've practised it through table tennis.

"My reaction time has also improved a lot."

A Japanese study found that participants who played table tennis every week showed "significant improvements in speech, handwriting, getting dressed, getting out of bed, and walking".

Table tennis can help symptoms of the disorder

The study also found significant improvements in common Parkinson's symptoms including posture, rigidity, facial expression, hand tremors and slowness of movement.

Leona said: "Just getting out and doing this feels very empowering because I'm taking control of a situation where I thought I'd lost control.

"I got my diagnosis when I was 38 and I was told that in 10 years I'd be in a wheelchair.

"That's really tough blow on your mental health as a 38-year-old.

"But after my diagnosis I'm not in a wheelchair - I'm learning a new sport and winning medals.

"For me the most important part is helping other people to feel the benefit that I felt.

"It's easy to become overwhelmed by the bad news and give up on your hopes and dreams.

"I think that if you're able to come through that and throw caution to the wind, the benefits are so great."

'Life-changing'

The second national Parkinson's table tennis championship in Glasgow drew 34 competitors from across the UK.

Leona said: "I liked seeing people thriving in the face of this adversary during the event.

"The community around you is so important and its been life-changing for the people who come to the training every week.

"Everyone in the room faces the same struggle, but it affects each one of us a bit differently.

"Now it's our job to roll out opportunities for people with Parkinson's, so wherever anybody is living in Scotland, we want to get table tennis to them."

Successful competitors from the national championships are now preparing for the world championships in Croatia.