Abstract
Objective
To evaluate the effect of body weight-supported progressive high-intensity locomotor
training in Parkinson's disease (PD) on (1) clinical status; (2) quality of life;
and (3) gait capacity.
Design
Open-label, fixed sequence crossover study.
Setting
University motor control laboratory.
Participants
Patients (N=13) with idiopathic PD (Hoehn and Yahr stage 2 or 3) and stable medication
use.
Interventions
Patients completed an 8-week (3 × 1h/wk) training program on a lower-body positive-pressure
treadmill. Body weight support was used to facilitate increased intensity and motor
challenges during treadmill training. The training program contained combinations
of (1) running and walking intervals, (2) the use of sudden changes (eg, in body weight
support and speed), (3) different types of locomotion (eg, chassé, skipping, and jumps),
and (4) sprints at 50 percent body weight.
Main Outcome Measures
The Movement Disorders Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS),
Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 items (PDQ-39), and the six-minute walk test
were conducted 8 weeks before and pre- and posttraining.
Results
At the end of training, statistically significant improvements were found in all outcome
measures compared with the control period. Total MDS-UPDRS score changed from (mean
± 1SD) 58±18 to 47±18, MDS-UPDRS motor part score changed from 35±10 to 29±12, PDQ-39
summary index score changed from 22±13 to 13±12, and the six-minute walking distance
changed from 576±93 to 637±90m.
Conclusions
Body weight-supported progressive high-intensity locomotor training is feasible and
well tolerated by patients with PD. The training improved clinical status, quality
of life, and gait capacity significantly.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
BW (body weight), MDS (Movement Disorders Society), PD (Parkinson's disease), PDQ-39 (Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 items), UPDRS (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 26, 2012
Footnotes
Supported by the Danish Parkinson's Disease Association (grant no. 31100).
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
