A Randomised Trial of Exercise Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease

Participants will be randomly allocated to an experimental group that attends the Interprofessional Clinic in the Clinical Practice Building at James Cook University, Townsville for 1 hour 2 times per week for 3 months. The experimental group exercises will include strength training, treadmill training, exercises, walking, bicycle training, skipping, and other aerobic exercises, sometimes with music, at a moderate intensity for up to 60 minutes including warm up and cool down, plus balance training and falls education (15 minutes) 2 days per week for 3 months. These exercises will be guided by a physiotherapist or exercise physiologist. In the experimental condition, level of intensity will be assessed using Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale (RPE; Borg 1982). Participants will be asked how hard they have worked during the class using a numbered scale (6-20 RPE) with brief descriptions. We will ask participants to exercise at a moderate intensity which is indicated by a score of 12-13 points on the Borg RPE scale. The balance exercises will challenge participants’ stability in standing by asking them to perform tasks that decrease their base of support, increase their movement of the center of mass and minimize the use of upper limbs for balance. Falls education will be integrated with balance exercise instructions for experimental group; and will consist of reading material (a pamphlet designed specifically for this study) for the active control group. There will be weekly fidelity checks for both experimental and active control groups; including mini-surveys for experimental group instructor, and all participants. For the active control the physitrack application and weekly follow ups with a registered physiotherapist will also be used to monitor adherence to protocol.