Parkinson's and Pickleball

Andy Leighton and his wife Helen discuss the positive effects on living with Parkinson's and playing Pickleball since 2011.

Pittsburgh pickleball tournament attracts more than 400 players while raising money for Parkinson Foundation

Pickleball player and Parkinson’s patient Andy Leighton can attest to the sport’s benefits.

“I love the closeness of it,” Leighton says. “You’re closer to your opponents than you are in tennis, and that fosters a social relationship that you won’t get in tennis or most other sports.”

Leighton was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease about six years ago. Off the court, his symptoms will flare and his body will shake. But once he has a pickleball paddle in his hand, everything changes.

“My wife took me to a tournament — entered us in a tournament — didn’t tell me a thing about the sport, and I’m a tennis player,” Leighton says. “When I tried to apply my tennis skills, you can only do so much of that, so I suffered a little bit. And then I caught on. Now I’m a monster.”

Pittsburgh City Paper (June 28, 2017) Read More

For more articles and videos regarding Pickleball and Parkinson's, check out this Port Townsend Pickleball search stream and the Gamma Pickleball Classic "Why Pickleball" page