DEMENTIA IN SOCIETY
Ping4Alzheimer – Table tennis to help slow cognitive decline According to some scientific studies, table tennis is one of the most suitable and recommended sports for older people, and may help to slow cognitive decline. With this in mind, Renato Walkowiak began giving special sessions for people with dementia and carers at Levallois Sporting Table Tennis Club in France, and the “Ping4Alzheimer” initiative was born. It is now being deployed nationally in partnership with France Alzheimer and the French Table Tennis Federation. Table tennis may help slow or protect against Alzheimer’s and other dementias. According to studies, including that of Dr Daniel Amen (American neuropsychiatrist, specialist in brain disorders), table tennis helps stimulate and maintain the cognitive system. Another study, in Japan, showed brain changes before and after a ping-pong session, supported by brain imaging: It was shown to stimulate five specific areas of the brain, including the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for memory, which shrinks as Alzheimer’s disease progresses. Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is one of the most suitable and recommended sports for older people and may help protect against cognitive decline. At Levallois Sporting Table Tennis Club, in the Hauts-de-Seine region of France, coach and manager Renato
Walkowiak created special sessions for people with dementia and their carers and so began the “Ping4Alzheimer” initiative. “This sport requires permanent concentration. It improves visuospatial perception and strengthens hand-eye coordination” says Mr Walkowiak, whose grandmother had Alzheimer’s dementia. It is also a highly inclusive and non-aggressive sport. “It’s like walking, everyone plays at their own pace, according to their age, level and physical abilities, but with the advantage of causing strong cognitive stimulation” says Mr Walkowiak, “You can even play in a chair”. Mr Walkowiak started the initiative in Levallois, in 2018, with the aim of helping people with dementia and their carers, both in
Renato Walkowiak
terms of partaking in an enjoyable activity on a regular basis, but also to help slow cognitive decline as much as possible. It was tested for two years (2018–2020) and the initiative convinced Alix de Chaumont, the General Secretary of the France Alzheimer association in the Hauts-de-Seine region: “Scientifically, it seems that the ping-pong exercise restores strength and volume to the hippocampus. We know that in Alzheimer’s disease it is the hippocampus that shrinks. I admit that I was a little skeptical but we have seen patients undergoing a metamorphosis.”
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This spor t requires permanent concentration. It improves visuospatial perception and strengthens hand-eye coordination and has the advantage of causing strong cognitive stimulation.” Renato Walkowiak The programme has been such a success in its first two years that, in 2020, a partnership was created between the French Table Tennis Federation and France Alzheimer, with the aim of deploying the initiative nationally. The objective is twofold: to bring together a table tennis club and a France Alzheimer structure in each region of France and to identify a group that can scientifically assess the impact of this sporting practice on Alzheimer’s disease.
40 Dementia in Europe
