CHARLOTTE -- Boxing legend Muhammad Ali died last week at age 74, but his legacy lives on.
Ali battled Parkinson's disease for three decades.
Many people say he’s a perfect example of a fighter both in the boxing ring and out.
Parkinson's disease can deteriorate your motor skills over time. The symptoms could include muscle stiffness, difficulty walking and slurred speech.
Ann Marie Obrikat, executive director of the Parkinson’s Association of the Carolinas, said if you have Parkinson’s, “It can be a huge labor just to get up out of bed in the morning.”
There's no cure for Parkinson's, but researchers say Ali had a dramatic impact on the medical field.
Dr. March Hirsch with the Carolinas HealthCare System said, “Physical activity and exercise were thought to not have any effect on Parkinson's disease whatsoever in the 1980s.”
Ali changed that perspective.
“Exercise is medicine. It certainly was for Muhammad Ali,” said Dr. Hirsch.
He and Michael J. Fox also went to Congress in the 90s, looking for research funding. But advocates say there's still a lot more work to be done.
Obrikat said, “The awareness is still not big. I mean it's not like breast cancer. It's not like Lou Gehrig's. Some people look at it as a final determination, and it doesn't have to be. Don't look at the end. Look at the now.”