Efficacy of Brisk Walking in Parkinson's Disease

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Parkinson Disease

Treatments: Behavioral: Upper limb exercise; Behavioral: Brisk walking and balance training

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04048291

HSEARS20180507003

Details and patient eligibility

About

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neuro-degenerative disease in older people. Falls are common among people PD with the incidence rate up to 70% and have strong associations with the severity of the disease, balance impairment, and freezing of gait.The abnormal gait characteristics include reduction in stride length, gait speed and arm swing, and increase in cadence. Gait training, balance training, aerobic training, Tai chi and dance training are common types of physical rehabilitation for PD. Brisk walking is a way of walking with a pace faster than normal, and it can improve dynamic balance for senior men and balance function for chronic stroke clients.

Brisk walking also promotes cardiopulmonary fitness and walking endurance in elderly women, healthy middle-age and older adults, active elderly men and chronic stroke clients. Our previous pilot randomized controlled trial on the effects of a 6-week home-based brisk walking program indicates that it is feasible and safe for the early PD population with improved walking capacity measured by 6-minute walk distance. The positive effects could carry over to 6 weeks after treatment completion. Up-to-date, the short- and long-term effects of brisk walking in improving balance and gait performance, and functional capacity in people with PD have not yet been well investigated. In order to promote their balance and functional capacity in longer term, more sustained training and better exercise adherence may be necessary.

Enrollment: 80 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 30+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Parkinson disease diagnosed by neurologist with Hoehn & Yahr stage 2 or 3
• Having a 30-meter walking ability

Exclusion criteria

• Significant neurological condition (other than Parkinson's disease)
• Musculoskeletal conditions affecting gait, balance or upper limb functions
• Had received deep brain stimulation surgery
• Cognitive impairment with Montreal Cognitive Assessment score <24
• Present with on-off motor fluctuations.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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80 participants in 2 patient groups

Brisk walking and balance training

Experimental group

Description:

1. Week1-6: Supervised training in groups of 6-8 participant, once/week, 90 min/session 2. Week 7-26: Supervised training in groups of 6-8 participant, once/month, 90 min/session 3. Participants practice own balance exercise and brisk walking 2-3 times/week (to aim at 150 min of moderate intensity of brisk walking per week at 40-60% of heart rate reserve)

Treatment:

Behavioral: Brisk walking and balance training

Upper limb exercise

Active Comparator group

Description:

1. Week1-6: Supervised training in groups of 6-8 participant, once/week, 90 min/session 2. Week 7-26: Supervised training in groups of 6-8 participant, once/month, 90 min/session 3. Participants practice own upper limb exercise 2-3 times/week (to aim at 150 min of exercise per week)

Treatment:

Behavioral: Upper limb exercise