Treadmill training with body weight support: Its effect on Parkinson's disease

• Published in: Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation Vol. 81; no. 7; pp. 849 - 852
• Main Authors: Miyai, Ichiro, Fujimoto, Yasuyuki, Ueda, Yoshishige, Yamamoto, Hiroshi, Nozaki, Sonoko, Saito, Toshio, Kang, Jin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.07.2000; Elsevier
• Subjects: Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Body Weight; Body-weight–supported treadmill training; Cross-Over Studies; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Electromyography; Exercise Therapy; Female; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Neurology; Parkinson Disease - rehabilitation; Parkinson's disease; Physical therapy; Prospective Studies; Rehabilitation; Body-weight–supported treadmill training; Parkinson's disease; Rehabilitation; Physical therapy; Treadmill exercise; Physical exercise; Human; Measurement; Nervous system diseases; Support; Body weight; Parkinson disease; Physical rehabilitation; Crossover study; Cerebral disorder; Prospective; Randomization; Central nervous system disease; Kinesitherapy; Influence; Degenerative disease; Endurance; Extrapyramidal syndrome
• ISSN: 0003-9993; 1532-821X
• DOI: 10.1053/apmr.2000.4439

Miyai I, Fujimoto Y, Ueda Y, Yamamoto H, Nozaki S, Saito T, Kang J. Treadmill training with body weight support: its effect on Parkinson's disease. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2000;81:849-52. Objective: To test whether body weight–supported treadmill training (BWSTT) is effective in improving functional outcome of patients with Parkinson's disease. Design: Prospective crossover trial. Patients were randomized to receive either a 4-week program of BWSTT with up to 20% of their body weight supported followed by 4 weeks of conventional physical therapy (PT), or the same treatments in the opposite order. Medications for parkinsonism were not modified throughout the study. Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation unit for neurologic diseases. Subjects: Ten patients (5 men, 5 women) with Hoehn and Yahr stage 2.5 or 3 parkinsonism; mean age 67.6 years, mean duration of Parkinson's disease 4.2 years. Main Outcome Measures: The Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), ambulation endurance and speed (sec/10m), and number of steps for 10-meter walk. Results: The mean total UPDRS before/after BWSTT was 31.6/25.6, and before/after PT was 29.1/28.0. Analysis of covariance for improvement of UPDRS demonstrated a significant effect of type of therapy (F(1, 16) = 42.779, p <.0001) but not order of therapy (F(1, 16) = 0.157, p =.6971). Patients also had significantly greater improvement with BWSTT than with PT in ambulation speed (BWSTT, before/after = 10.0/8.3; PT, 9.5/8.9), and number of steps (BWSTT, 22.3/19.6; PT, 21.5/20.8). Conclusions: In persons with Parkinson's disease, treadmill training with body weight support produces greater improvement in activities of daily living, motor performance, and ambulation than does physical therapy. © 2000 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation