Marshall Faulk diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease

Hall of Fame running back and Southern University coach Marshall Faulk has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

Faulk revealed his diagnosis on the podcast “The Caring Neurologist” on Wednesday, telling the host, “I want to help as many people as I can.”

Video above: Marshall Faulk describes how the Saints’ Domecoming game was a sign of the city being reborn

The 53-year-old Faulk said he was not experiencing “issues” beyond hand rigidity and a few tremors, thanks to medication. He doesn’t believe the symptoms have gotten worse in the 18 months he’s been dealing with the disease.

Faulk initially dismissed the hand rigidity he experienced while golfing as normal nerves but grew concerned when it continued even when he was not competing.

“I just thought it was normal nerves when putting and stuff like that. But it started to be times where I was playing, but I wasn’t in a match, and it would still do that. And I was like, ‘Wow, is that something, is that normal?’ And the doctor was literally like, ‘You need to go get checked,'” Faulk said on the podcast.

Faulk is in his first season as Southern’s coach after serving as running backs coach at Colorado. He played 12 NFL seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.

The New Orleans native grew up a Saints fan and worked at the Louisiana Superdome as a child. He attended San Diego State University and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1992. He was also a Heisman finalist in 1991 and 1994.

Faulk was a first-round draft pick of the Colts in 1994 and was named to the All-Rookie Team. In the years to come, he set numerous records leading up to his MVP season in 2000, the same year the Rams beat the Tennessee Titans in the Super Bowl.

He finished his illustrious career with 12,279 rushing yards, 100 rushing touchdowns, as well as 767 receptions for 6,875 receiving yards and 36 receiving touchdowns.

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects the dopamine-producing neurons in a specific area of the brain called the substantia nigra, according to Parkinson.org. Symptoms generally develop slowly over years. The progression of symptoms is often a bit different from one person to another due to the diversity of the disease. People with Parkinson’s may experience tremors, pain in the hands, slowness and paucity of movement, limb stiffness, gait and balance problems.

The disease affects 10 million people worldwide.

The Associated Press contributed to this report