Instrumental or Physical-Exercise Rehabilitation of Balance in Parkinson's Disease? (IPER-PD)

NCT ID: NCT03314597

Last Updated: 2017-10-19

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 38 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2014-04-02
• Study Completion Date: 2015-12-22

Brief Summary

We hypothesized that rehabilitation specifically addressing balance in Parkinson ́s disease patients might improve not only balance, but locomotion as well. Two balance training protocols (standing on a moving platform, and traditional balance exercises) were compared by assigning patients to two groups: moving platform (n=15) and balance exercises (n=17). Platform moved periodically in antero-posterior, latero-lateral and oblique direction, with and without vision in different trials. Balance exercises were based on Otago Exercise Program. Both platform and exercises sessions were administered from easy to difficult. Outcome measures were: a) balancing behaviour, assessed both by index of stability (IS) on platform and by Mini-BESTest, b) gait, assessed both by baropodometry and by Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) and Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-8) were administered. Both groups exhibited better balance control, as assessed both by IS and by Mini-BESTest. Gait speed at both baropodometry and TUG also improved in both groups. Scores of FES-I and PDQ-8 showed a marginal improvement. A four-week treatment featuring no gait training, but focussed on challenging balance tasks produces considerable gait enhancement in mildly to moderately affected patients. Walking problems in PD depend on postural instability and are successfully relieved by appropriate balance rehabilitation.

Detailed Description

The importance for training balance in connection with rehabilitation aimed at improving gait is easily stressed by considering the complex motor behaviour underpinning more challenging conditions than linear walking, as walking-and-turning, where the turn-related changes in feet, trunk and head movements are integral part of he kinematics of the steering body (Courtine and M. Schieppati, 2003; Crenna et al, 2007). It is no wonder that freezing of gait and increased risk of falling (Schlenstedt et al., 2016) is associated with abnormal bilateral coordination and turning. Hence, the present investigation somehow diverges from the theory of the task-specific training (Bayona et al., 2005), but considers instead the relevance for locomotion enhancement of training balance control, by hypothesising that specific balance rehabilitation might be sufficient for gait improvement. Here, we trained PD patients with two different treatments, both specifically addressing balance. A platform onto which subjects stood moved in antero-posterior, latero-lateral and diagonal direction in the horizontal plane. A simpler moving-platform protocol had been previously exploited for testing and enhancing balance capacities in patients with PD and with vestibular deficit (Nardone et al., 2010; De Nunzio 2007). This platform protocol challenges both the anticipatory and the reactive capacities to the ongoing postural perturbations, thereby training dynamic balance control, aiming at the balance problems encountered during every day activity.

The outcome of the platform treatment was compared to that obtained in another group of matched patients with PD by standardized and validated exercises aimed at training balance and dynamic balance (Renfro et al., 2016). Of note, these exercises contained no dynamic component (i.e. gait-related exercises) of balance training, contrary to Conradsson et al. 2017. Both treatments (platform and exercises) were tailored to the patient individual capacities, and their difficulty gradually increased all along the duration of the treatment (Conradsson et al., 2017). In this context, we estimated any improvement in balance control by indexes of dynamic stability during a balance perturbation test on the mobile platform and by clinical scores related to dynamic balance control. Gait improvement was both evaluated instrumentally and assessed by a functional clinical test.

Conditions

Parkinson's Disease; Rehabilitation

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Balance exercise group

Each of the ten sessions was composed of 45 minutes of balance exercises, each treatment being followed by a 15-min final phase of lower limb stretching, performed with the assistance of a physiotherapist. Sessions were repeated two or three times a week, with at least one rest day between one session and the next, over four successive weeks. Each patient was treated on-phase, at the same time of the day across sessions.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Balance exercise

Intervention Type: OTHER

Patients in the balance exercise group received a personalized exercise program developed by an expert physiotherapist. There was no predefined duration for each item of the set of exercises, but all patients underwent an overall 45 min period training per day according to the same schedule. This schedule was based on the Otago Exercise Program and Practice Guidelines for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Patients did not wear shoes for balance training. All exercises were performed without upper-limb support and with the supervision of a physiotherapist.

Mobile platform exercise group

Each of the ten sessions was composed of 45 minutes mobile platform training, each treatment being followed by a 15-min final phase of lower limb stretching, performed with the assistance of a physiotherapist. Sessions were repeated two or three times a week, with at least one rest day between one session and the next, over four successive weeks. Each patient was treated on-phase, at the same time of the day across sessions.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Mobile platform exercise

Intervention Type: OTHER

Patients entered the mobile platform and put on a security harness (no weight unloading), which they wore during the entire session on the platform training. The arms were free to move, but they were asked not to reach out for support. Each patient underwent 45 minutes of training (resting periods included), in which from 6 to 8 perturbation patterns were administered, each one lasting about 4 minutes. During training, the platform moved in the antero-posterior, latero-lateral and diagonal (45 deg) direction with respect to the body. The periodic platform displacement was 10 cm, regardless of the frequency, which could range from 0.3 to 0.6 Hz. Patients stood with eyes open and closed and feet together or 20 cm apart depending on the perturbation subtype.

Interventions

Balance exercise

Patients in the balance exercise group received a personalized exercise program developed by an expert physiotherapist. There was no predefined duration for each item of the set of exercises, but all patients underwent an overall 45 min period training per day according to the same schedule. This schedule was based on the Otago Exercise Program and Practice Guidelines for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Patients did not wear shoes for balance training. All exercises were performed without upper-limb support and with the supervision of a physiotherapist.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Mobile platform exercise

Patients entered the mobile platform and put on a security harness (no weight unloading), which they wore during the entire session on the platform training. The arms were free to move, but they were asked not to reach out for support. Each patient underwent 45 minutes of training (resting periods included), in which from 6 to 8 perturbation patterns were administered, each one lasting about 4 minutes. During training, the platform moved in the antero-posterior, latero-lateral and diagonal (45 deg) direction with respect to the body. The periodic platform displacement was 10 cm, regardless of the frequency, which could range from 0.3 to 0.6 Hz. Patients stood with eyes open and closed and feet together or 20 cm apart depending on the perturbation subtype.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• patients with mild to moderate idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) (Hoehn-Yahr stage between 1.5 and 3)

Exclusion Criteria

• orthopaedic conditions restricting exercise, or deep brain stimulation surgery or evidence of dementia . Patients not able walk independently.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 50 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 85 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Fondazione Salvatore Maugeri

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of Pavia

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Antonio Nardone

Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

References

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Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 16110428 (View on PubMed)

Conradsson D, Nero H, Lofgren N, Hagstromer M, Franzen E. Monitoring training activity during gait-related balance exercise in individuals with Parkinson's disease: a proof-of-concept-study. BMC Neurol. 2017 Jan 31;17(1):19. doi: 10.1186/s12883-017-0804-7.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 28143463 (View on PubMed)

Courtine G, Schieppati M. Human walking along a curved path. I. Body trajectory, segment orientation and the effect of vision. Eur J Neurosci. 2003 Jul;18(1):177-90. doi: 10.1046/j.1460-9568.2003.02736.x.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 12859351 (View on PubMed)

Crenna P, Carpinella I, Rabuffetti M, Calabrese E, Mazzoleni P, Nemni R, Ferrarin M. The association between impaired turning and normal straight walking in Parkinson's disease. Gait Posture. 2007 Jul;26(2):172-8. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2007.04.010. Epub 2007 May 29.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 17532636 (View on PubMed)

De Nunzio AM, Nardone A, Schieppati M. The control of equilibrium in Parkinson's disease patients: delayed adaptation of balancing strategy to shifts in sensory set during a dynamic task. Brain Res Bull. 2007 Sep 28;74(4):258-70. doi: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2007.06.020. Epub 2007 Jul 23.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 17720548 (View on PubMed)

Nardone A, Godi M, Artuso A, Schieppati M. Balance rehabilitation by moving platform and exercises in patients with neuropathy or vestibular deficit. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2010 Dec;91(12):1869-77. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2010.09.011.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 21112428 (View on PubMed)

Renfro M, Bainbridge DB, Smith ML. Validation of Evidence-Based Fall Prevention Programs for Adults with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disorders: A Modified Otago Exercise Program. Front Public Health. 2016 Dec 6;4:261. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2016.00261. eCollection 2016.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 27999771 (View on PubMed)

Schlenstedt C, Muthuraman M, Witt K, Weisser B, Fasano A, Deuschl G. Postural control and freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2016 Mar;24:107-12. doi: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2015.12.011. Epub 2015 Dec 18.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 26762797 (View on PubMed)

Giardini M, Nardone A, Godi M, Guglielmetti S, Arcolin I, Pisano F, Schieppati M. Instrumental or Physical-Exercise Rehabilitation of Balance Improves Both Balance and Gait in Parkinson's Disease. Neural Plast. 2018 Mar 7;2018:5614242. doi: 10.1155/2018/5614242. eCollection 2018.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 29706993 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

Approval number # 905 CEC

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id