Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease
Conditions
Keywords
Treadmill, Walking, Exercise, Automaticity, Quality of Life
Brief summary
The major aim of this study is to determine the efficacy of a home-based treadmill walking program in improving walking capacity and quality of life in people with early mid-stage Parkinson's disease(PD).
Detailed description
After Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common degenerative neurological condition suffered by Australians, with more than 30,000 Australians having PD at any one time (Parkinson's Australia). Hypokinesia, ie, reduced speed and amplitude of movement, is a major impairment of motor control affecting walking in people with PD. Over time, the development of slow, shuffling walking contributes to loss of independence and falls, with devastating consequences for individuals with PD and their families(Ashburn et al, 2001, Playfer 2001). Any decrease or delay in disability will reduce the personal and financial costs to individuals with PD, their families, health care resources and the community. A number of previous studies suggest exercise capacity and exercise habits are positively correlated. In people with mild Parkinson's disease (Canning et al 2005), walking capacity, measured as distance walked in the 6-min walk test, correlated with the amount of walking (r=.64, p\<0.01) performed each week. Similarly, in an earlier study of people with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease, regular exercise was associated with better exercise capacity (Canning et al 1997). It appears, therefore, that proactive intervention aimed at developing good exercise habits in sedentary individuals with early to mid-stage Parkinson's disease has the potential to reduce or delay walking difficulties. This study aims to establish the efficacy of a home-based treadmill walking program in providing an early intervention which addresses the primary motor control impairment of hypokinesia, while at the same time maintaining or improving exercise capacity.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALTreadmill training
Walking on a treadmill 3 times per week for 6 weeks
Sponsors
South West Sydney Local Health District
Natalie Allen
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
30 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* clinical diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease * aged 30-80 years old * subjective disturbance of gait and / or Unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS) gait subscore of 1 * sedentary, defined as performing less than 2 hours / week of leisure-time physical activity over the prior 3 months * have adapted to their current anti-Parkinsonian medication for at least 2 weeks
Exclusion criteria
* motor fluctuations or dyskinesias which are disabling * require the use of a walking aid * more than one fall in the last 12 months * Mini-Mental State Examination score of \<24 * exhibit other neurological or musculoskeletal conditions affecting walking * chest pain at rest or during exercise in the last 3 months, or heart attack, angioplasty or heart surgery in the last 6 months
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Distance walked in 6 minutes | study entry (0 weeks), 7 and 13 weeks |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Walking Automaticity, determined as the velocity of walking 10m while performing a concurrent (cognitive or cognitive + physical) task expressed as a percentage of the velocity of walking 10m without performing the concurrent task. | 0, 7 and 13 weeks |
| Unified Parkinson's disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) - motor examination | 0, 7 and 13 weeks |
| The Parkinson's disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39 | 0, 7 and 13 weeks |
| Walking consistency determined as the co-efficients of variation for stride time and stride length recorded during the 6 minute walk test. | 0, 7 and 13 weeks |
Countries
Australia
Outcome results
None listed