Paria Arfa-Fatollahkhani
Iran university of medical sciences, Iran
Title: Short-term and long-term effects of treadmill training on the balance, functional capacity and quality of life in patients with Parkinson disease- A randomized clinical trial
Biography
Biography: Paria Arfa-Fatollahkhani
Abstract
Objectives: To evaluate the short-term and long-term effectiveness of treadmill training in improving functional capacity, balance and quality of life (QOL) for Parkinson disease (PD) patients.
Design: A prospective, randomized, single-blind clinical trial.
Methods: A total of 20 mild to moderate PD patients were randomly split in case (11) and control (9) groups. Both the groups were evaluated for 3 times; at the time of inclusion, 2 months and 4 months later. We assigned Time Up and Go test (TUG) and 6 minutes-walk test (6MW) for assessment of balance and functional capacity. Additionally, the SF-8 healthy survey was filled out in an interview conducted by the expert.
Intervention: Treadmill exercises were performed in 10 weeks (2sessions/week). The program have been applied at moderate intensity with 60% of heart rate reserved (HRR) in 30 minutes. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test and Freidman test were applied for short-term and long-term follow up analysis, respectively.
Results: Balance and functional capacity were significantly improved in case group after the intervention (TUG P value: 0.003, 6MW P value: 0.003). Moreover, long-term analysis revealed significant results as well (TUG P value: 0.001, 6MW P value: 0.004). Mental condition scores of SF-8 in cases were not statistically different in short-term follow up. However, analysis illustrated P value: 0.016 for long-term assessment. The intervention induced significant changes in physical condition scores in both follow ups (PC P value: 0.013).
Conclusion: This study provides considerable benefits of treadmill training in balance, functional capacity and QOL for PD patients.