Sensory Stimulation Effect on Movement Speed in Patients With Parkinson Disease

Université Libre de Bruxelles

Status: Completed

Conditions: Parkinson Disease

Treatments: Other: Aponeurotic stimulation (the diacutaneous fibrolysis method); Other: Placebo stimulation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01544738

LMNB-01

Details and patient eligibility

About

Movement slowness (bradykinesia) is one of the main motor symptoms in Parkinson Disease (PD). Several studies have shown that patients with PD exhibit slowness because they are unable to modulate, in an optimal way, the velocity of voluntary motor acts not induced by external stimulation. Indeed, these patients have difficulties to integrate multi-sensorial information, mainly proprioception.

The investigators investigated changes in shoulder velocity during pointing movements by patients with PD after stimulation of soft tissues (aponeurosis) of upper limb muscles. The stimulation consisted of manipulating, with a hook (the diacutaneous fibrolysis method), the aponeurotic tissues enrobing the heads of the upper limb muscles. This technique has previously been shown to decrease passive tension and the tendon reflex response of the manipulated muscle group. The investigators hypothesis is that aponeurotic manipulation of shoulder muscles therefore creates a modification in the proprioceptive information, which in return temporarily decreases the bradykinesia of shoulder movements.

Enrollment: 11 patients

Sex: All

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Clinical diagnosis of Parkinson Disease

Exclusion criteria

• Patients with a limitation in the shoulder range of motion necessary to perform pointing movements

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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11 participants in 2 patient groups

Aponeurotic stimulation group

Experimental group

Description:

The stimulation consisted of manipulating, with a hook (the diacutaneous fibrolysis method), the aponeurotic tissues enrobing the heads of the trunk and upper limb muscles.

Treatment:

Other: Aponeurotic stimulation (the diacutaneous fibrolysis method)

Placebo stimulation group

Active Comparator group

Description:

Placebo stimulation (PS) consisted of manipulating the skin along the same paths over the trunk, shoulder and arm muscles that were the targets for treatment in the Aponeurotic stimulation group.

Treatment:

Other: Placebo stimulation