Exercise has a role medication cannot fill
Em uma tarde de junho em Porto Alegre, profissionais de saúde, familiares e pessoas que vivem com a doença de Parkinson se reuniram na AMRIGS durante a Semana do Cérebro 2026 para transformar dados clínicos em diálogo humano. A doença, que afeta entre 2 e 3% dos brasileiros acima dos 60 anos, não rouba a memória, mas corrói silenciosamente a autonomia e a mobilidade — e os sistemas de saúde ainda não acompanharam a escala do desafio. O encontro sublinhou uma verdade que a medicina frequentemente subestima: o tratamento eficaz não cabe em uma receita, mas se constrói na intersecção entre o movimento do corpo, a presença da mente e o amparo de quem fica ao lado.
- A prevalência crescente do Parkinson no Brasil — 2 a 3% entre os maiores de 60 anos — pressiona sistemas de saúde que ainda não dimensionaram a resposta necessária.
- A doença não ataca a memória, mas desfaz gradualmente as pequenas liberdades cotidianas: caminhar com segurança, mover-se com confiança, habitar o próprio corpo sem medo.
- Neurologistas e terapeutas apresentaram a caminhada nórdica e exercícios de neuroplasticidade como ferramentas concretas que vão além do medicamento — o movimento, praticado com intenção, pode reconfigurar o cérebro.
- A psicologia entrou em cena com o mindfulness como antídoto ao peso do futuro incerto: estar presente, conscientemente, é também uma forma de tratamento.
- Luiz Carlos Leal, vivendo com Parkinson, tomou a palavra e reposicionou toda a conversa — não como vítima, mas como alguém que age, informa-se e conecta-se.
- A tarde encerrou reconhecendo que cuidadores e familiares não são coadjuvantes: são a estrutura invisível que sustenta a dignidade de quem convive com a doença.
Em junho de 2026, o teatro da AMRIGS em Porto Alegre reuniu neurologistas, fisioterapeutas, psicólogos, familiares e pessoas com Parkinson para um evento da Semana do Cérebro que buscou ir além do clínico — e alcançar o humano.
O Dr. Carlos Rieder abriu com um esclarecimento importante: Parkinson não é Alzheimer. A doença não compromete primariamente a memória, mas corrói a autonomia e a mobilidade. No Brasil, afeta entre 2 e 3% das pessoas acima dos 60 anos — uma proporção que cresce enquanto as políticas públicas ainda tentam acompanhar o ritmo.
A neurologista Sheila Trentin foi direta: o medicamento controla sintomas, mas não cura nem desacelera a progressão. O que preserva função e qualidade de vida é o movimento. Exercício regular fortalece músculos, melhora o equilíbrio e restaura a percepção corporal. Três profissionais demonstraram isso na prática, apresentando a caminhada nórdica — quatro pontos de apoio no chão em vez de dois — como estratégia de estabilidade e, mais do que isso, como estímulo à neuroplasticidade. O cérebro afetado pelo Parkinson ainda pode criar novas conexões através da prática deliberada.
A psicóloga Julia trouxe o mindfulness como ferramenta terapêutica: a prática de habitar o momento presente, em vez de se perder na antecipação de um futuro incerto, oferece alívio concreto a quem convive com uma condição progressiva.
O momento mais marcante da tarde foi o testemunho de Luiz Carlos Leal, que vive com Parkinson. Sem dramatizar o diagnóstico, ele descreveu uma trajetória de enfrentamento ativo — e sua presença reconfigurou o sentido de toda a conversa.
Neusa Chardosim, presidente da Associação Parkinson RS, encerrou o evento lembrando que a doença não afeta apenas quem a recebe: ela reorganiza a vida de toda a família. Cuidadores e familiares são a estrutura que torna possível preservar dignidade, rotina e pertencimento — e reconhecer isso, disse ela, é também parte do tratamento.
On a June afternoon in Porto Alegre, the AMRIGS theater filled with neurologists, family members, physical therapists, and people living with Parkinson's disease. They had gathered during Brain Week 2026 for a conversation that would move beyond the clinical and into the lived reality of a condition that touches millions of Brazilians—and the networks that sustain them through it.
Dr. Gerson Junqueira Jr., president of the Medical Association of Rio Grande do Sul, opened by framing why this gathering mattered. Brain Week, he explained, serves a specific purpose: it brings scientific knowledge, healthcare teams, and the public into genuine dialogue about neurological disease and its ripple effects through people's lives. The afternoon's focus was Parkinson's—its diagnosis, its treatment possibilities, the weight of lifestyle choices, and the irreplaceable role of those who stand beside someone living with it.
Neurologist Dr. Carlos Rieder began with epidemiology. Parkinson's disease is not Alzheimer's, he clarified—it does not primarily steal memory. Instead, it erodes autonomy, mobility, and the small freedoms most people take for granted. In Brazil, population studies show prevalence rates between 2 and 3 percent among people over sixty. That means in a room of one hundred older adults, two or three are likely living with Parkinson's. The numbers are climbing, and public health systems have not yet caught up to the scale of the problem.
Neurologist Sheila Trentin shifted the conversation toward what actually helps. Medication is necessary—it manages symptoms—but it does not cure the disease or slow its progression. What does preserve function, autonomy, and quality of life is movement. Regular exercise occupies a central place in treatment. It strengthens muscles, improves balance, restores the body's sense of itself in space. The implication was clear: a pill alone is not enough.
Three practitioners—Julia Hoffmann, Josieli Fraga, and Eduarda Sorgato—then demonstrated what this looked like in practice. Nordic walking emerged as a concrete strategy: using poles to create four points of contact with the ground instead of two, the body finds stability it has lost. But the benefit runs deeper than mechanics. Learning the technique activates neuroplasticity, stimulating new neural connections. The brain, even a brain affected by Parkinson's, can rewire itself through deliberate practice. Fraga explained that in AMRIGS exercise sessions, they work on coordination, balance, and expansive movements—the very capacities the disease attacks. Sorgato then invited the audience into a participatory experience, using music and movement to make the abstract concrete.
Psychologist Julia addressed the mind's role. Mindfulness—the practice of attending fully to the present moment—offers something specific to people whose days are shadowed by worry about the future or regret about the past. How often, she asked the room, do we move through our lives lost in thought, the actual moment passing unnoticed? Mindfulness invites presence, consciousness of what is happening now. For someone managing a progressive neurological condition, that shift can be profound.
The afternoon closed with testimony. Luiz Carlos Leal, living with Parkinson's, spoke about his own path. He did not experience the shock many newly diagnosed people describe. He moved directly into problem-solving. His presence in the room—a person with the disease, speaking plainly about it—reframed the entire conversation. Information matters. Connection matters. Support matters. These are not abstractions; they are the scaffolding that allows someone to preserve dignity and quality of life.
Neusa Chardosim, president of the Parkinson's Association of Rio Grande do Sul, concluded by centering the family and the caregiver. They organize the daily routine. They provide emotional ballast. They create environments that are safer, more respectful, more welcoming. Their role is not peripheral; it is essential. The disease affects the person diagnosed, but it reshapes the lives of everyone around them. Acknowledging that—honoring it—was the final note of the afternoon.
Notable Quotes
Medication treats symptoms, but exercise has an essential role in preserving functionality, autonomy, and quality of life— Neurologist Sheila Trentin
Learning Nordic walking activates new neurons and stimulates neuroplasticity—fundamental for rehabilitation and exercise in Parkinson's disease— Josieli Fraga, physical therapist
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did AMRIGS choose to focus on Parkinson's specifically during Brain Week?
Because the numbers are climbing and most people don't realize how many Brazilians are living with it. Two or three in every hundred people over sixty. That's not rare. That's a public health reality that hasn't yet become public knowledge.
The speakers seemed to emphasize that medication alone isn't the answer.
Right. Medication manages symptoms, but it doesn't stop the disease or reverse it. What actually preserves function—what keeps someone able to move, to be independent—is exercise. Regular, deliberate movement. That's where the real work happens.
Nordic walking seemed like an unusual choice for treatment.
It's elegant, actually. You're using poles to give your body four points of contact instead of two. But more than that, learning the technique activates new neural pathways. The brain can rewire itself even in a degenerative disease. That's the hope embedded in the practice.
What about the psychological dimension? Mindfulness seemed almost secondary.
It's not secondary at all. When you're living with a progressive disease, your mind often lives in the future—worry, fear—or in the past. Mindfulness pulls you back to what's actually happening now. For someone managing Parkinson's, that presence can be the difference between despair and agency.
The final panel emphasized family and caregivers. Why is that so central?
Because the disease doesn't just affect the person diagnosed. It reshapes everyone around them. The caregiver organizes the day, provides emotional support, creates safety. Without that network, even good medical care isn't enough. The disease is lived in relationship.
What did the presence of someone actually living with Parkinson's add to the conversation?
Everything. He spoke plainly about his own experience—no shock, just problem-solving. That reframes the entire afternoon. It's not a disease being discussed abstractly. It's a life being lived, and that changes how everyone in the room understands what matters.