GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Patients, families and friends gathered at the University of Michigan Health-West Tuesday to get moving for World Parkinson’s Day.

The event, called the “Sit and Stand Challenge and Exercise Class,” encouraged people with the disease to stay active and improve their stability and balance.

Tina Rueben, a University of Michigan Health-West physical therapist, said this exercise helps boost dopamine, which is something that people with Parkinson’s disease lack.

“Sit to stand is one of the most difficult things for people with Parkinson’s to do and it’s a good exercise. So when people say ‘I can’t run, I can’t walk,’ you can stand up. It’s something we do all the time,” Reuben told News 8.

Parkinson’s causes “uncontrollable movements, such as shaking, stiffness and difficulty with balance and coordination,” according to the National Institute on Aging. The brain disorder is typically discovered in people ages 60 and up, but Reuben said they have more patients than before being diagnosed below the age of 50 and symptoms differ for each person.

“If you’ve seen one person with Parkinson’s, you’ve seen one person with Parkinson’s. Everybody is so unique in how they present,” Reuben said.

She added that the hospital system has exercise classes every Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., one-on-one therapy with patients and support groups for those affected.