Parkinson's Disease
Conditions
Brief summary
Patients practicing Tai Chi will exhibit significant improvements in primary outcome measures of balance, and secondary outcomes of gait, physical performance, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, Falls, muscle strength.
Detailed description
The study is designed to determine the effects of Tai Chi training on balance and other functional outcomes in persons with Parkinson's disease.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALTai Chi
a set of pre-designed Tai Chi Movements
BEHAVIORALStrength training
Lower-extremity strength training exercises
BEHAVIORALLow-Impact Exercise Control
a set of chair-based low-impact exercises
Sponsors
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Oregon Research Institute
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
40 Years to 85 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Patients who have: * A diagnosis of idiopathic PD, with a disease severity rating of stage I to IV on the Hoehn and Yahr scale (Hoehn & Yahr, 1967) * At least 1 score of 2 or more for at least 1 limb for either the tremor, rigidity, or bradykinesia item of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) * Stable medication usage * Not participated in a structured exercise program (i.e., not involved in any routine, organized physical activity program lasting 30 minutes or more per day, such as a gym program or regularly scheduled instructor-led exercise class) in the previous 2 months * Ability to stand unaided or walk independently; had a personal physician's or neurologist's clearance for participation; and had a willingness to be assigned to intervention conditions.
Exclusion criteria
Patients who: * Participate in any other behavioral or pharmacological research study * Have cognitive decline (Mini-Mental State Examination score, ≤ 24) (Folstein et al., 1975) * Have self-reported diagnosis of Alzheimer disease or other severe neurological (stage III and IV PD) * Have evidence of progressive or debilitating conditions (metastatic cancer, severe heart or lung disease, crippling arthritis) or severe losses in vision and hearing that would limit their tolerance to testing and training procedures, that would interfere with study participation * Are unavailable during the study period.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Balance | 3 time points |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| gait, physical performance, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, falls, Muscle strength | 3 time points |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed