Mental Practice in Parkinson's Disease

Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

Status: Completed

Conditions: Parkinson Disease

Treatments: Other: physical therapy; Other: Mental practice and physical therapy

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02729454

CAAE 46155315.3.0000.5208

Details and patient eligibility

About

Introduction Although drug therapy is the mainstay of treatment for Parkinson's disease, the therapy also has its importance by means of exercises which maintains the muscular activity and preserve mobility. One of the techniques that has been used for physical therapy is the mental practice of the mental simulation of movement, aiming at learning or improvement of motor skills through the cortex areas of activation responsible for the movement of preparation before it is executed. In patients with Parkinson's disease motor anticipation this system is compromised, culminating in the march changes and increased risk of falls. Objective: To evaluate the effects of mental practice on physical therapy on the march and the risk of falls in people with Parkinson's disease. Method: The study is defined as a randomized clinical trial with systematic recruitment. Recruitment will be conducted at the Clinic of Neurology, Hospital das clinics Federal University of Pernambuco (Pro-Parkinson Project: Neurology) and the intervention will be held at the same hospital physiotherapy clinic. Both the control group and the trial will be subjected to 15 therapy sessions twice a week, lasting 40 minutes for physical therapy and 15 for mental practice.

Enrollment: 18 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Patients with clinical diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease
• Male and female
• Stage 1-3 of the Hoehn and Yahr scale.

Exclusion criteria

• Have other neurological diseases
• They have decompensated systemic diseases
• Musculoskeletal changes that prevent the achievement of movements
• With lowering of the cognitive level assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination with cutoff point according to education
• With respiratory impairment
• With medical restrictions for performing exercises
• Do not get hold motor imagination during the application of Visual and Kinesthetic Imagery Questionnaire-10
• In physical therapy, occupational therapy service for 3 months or more;
• Patients with moderate to severe depression assessed by inventory Beck Depression Inventory

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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18 participants in 2 patient groups

Exclusively physical therapy

Active Comparator group

Description:

The patients will be submitted to 15 therapeutical sessions two times per week with length of 40 minutes for motor physiotherapy . Each session of the motor physiotherapy will be constituted of exercises that include stretching (emphasizing the front of the torso), reinforcement (with emphasis in inferior members extensores); active exercises as transference (for example, to put into motion it bed or uprising of a chair), to reach and to grasp and training of balance and march.

Treatment:

Other: physical therapy

Mental Practice And Physical Therapy

Experimental group

Description:

In the group submitted to the mental Practice the sessions will be individualized and occur in tranquil room after physical therapy (Same performed with the control group). During the mental practice the patient will be guided to stand, where he will be requested initially to identify and to sequencer the necessary joints for the accomplishment of an only step, being they:flexion of the thigh and leg rights, extension of the right leg more dorsiflexed of the right foot; touch of the heel and discharge of weight of the right foot and inclined body to the front. The sessions occur two times per week during 15 minutes.

Treatment:

Other: Mental practice and physical therapy