As the world continues to mourn the passing of Muhammad Ali, we at the blog were thinking about the legendary boxer's life and his long struggle with Parkinson's disease.

Ali was known as a fighter, having gone up against the likes of Larry Holmes, George Foreman and Joe Frazier -- but his greatest battle may have been Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's Disease impacts an estimated one million Americans, according to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, with about 60,000 new diagnoses each year.

Ali's public bout with the disease began with a memorable moment at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, when the gold medalist lit the Olympic flame despite his badly shaking limbs.

Why are we talking about Parkinson's Disease on a blog about dysphagia (difficulty swallowing?) Because people with Parkinson's often find themselves suffering with dysphagia as well.

Parkinson's impacts motor function, often manifesting through tremor, rigidity, slowness of movement and postural instability. But additional problems may display as a result of Parkinson's -- one of them being dysphagia.

If you're suffering from dysphagia, regardless of the cause, we hope that Ali can be an inspiration to you to keep fighting. 

Ali was relentless in training for his matches. He knew that regardless of the challenger he'd face in the ring, his body would be prepared.

Swallow Solutions offers an innovative product to help dysphagia patients train the muscles involved in the swallow -- ultimately helping them regain the ability to swallow.

With an attitude like Ali, and the SwallowSTRONG<, dysphagia patients can often times deliver a knock out blow to their swallowing problems.

(June is National Dysphagia Awareness month. Follow us on Twitter or join us on Facebook for more dysphagia facts throughout the month.)