Classical Guitar for Parkinson's Disease

NCT ID: NCT05917704

Last Updated: 2023-06-26

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: UNKNOWN
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 40 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2023-06-06
• Study Completion Date: 2024-02-01

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to understand if training Parkinson's disease patients in classical guitar will improve motor function, mood, and quality of life. While medication has been found to be effective for many Parkinson's disease patients, many patients still have symptoms. Previous studies have found that music and rhythm-based activities can help Parkinson's disease symptoms. A previous study looked at the effect of playing classical guitar on Parkinson's disease symptoms. They found positive changes in Parkinson's disease symptoms that lasted for 6 weeks after the study ended. Further, there were positive changes in depression, anxiety, and quality of life.

Detailed Description

Subjects will be asked to take part in classical guitar lessons once a week for six weeks and physical therapy once a week for six weeks. There will be 40 people enrolled in the study. Twenty people will have classical guitar lessons first and physical therapy second. The other twenty people will have physical therapy first and classical guitar lessons second. The study will last a total of 12 weeks. Each session will last 1-2 hours. Sessions will be held at the Northwest Chapter headquarters of the American Parkinson's Disease Association.

Examples of the types of activities subjects will do during the physical therapy sessions include finger exercises, tasks with both hands, tasks while standing, and tasks while walking.

Examples of the types of activities you will do during the classical guitar lessons include playing chords and songs on the guitar.

Subjects will have physical exams and complete questionnaires at the beginning of the study, at six weeks, and at the end of the study.

If subjects have Apple watches, they will be asked to download an application called StrivePD on their watch and iPhone. StrivePD is an application that allows subjects to keep track of their Parkinson's disease symptoms or set medication reminders, for example. When used with an Apple watch, it can automatically record symptoms like tremors. During this study, the StrivePD application will only be used to collect data about what percentage of the day they have tremors and how much they sleep.

Conditions

Parkinson Disease

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NON_RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Guitar then physical therapy

Subjects will learn classical guitar then have physical therapy sessions.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Guitar then physical therapy

Intervention Type: OTHER

See arm/group descriptions

Physical therapy then guitar

Subjects will have physical therapy sessions then learn classical guitar

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Physical therapy then guitar

Intervention Type: OTHER

See arm/group descriptions

Interventions

Guitar then physical therapy

See arm/group descriptions

Intervention Type: OTHER

Physical therapy then guitar

See arm/group descriptions

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• 50-90 years old
• Diagnosis with Parkinson's disease by a Movement Disorder specialist

Exclusion Criteria

• Professional musician or formal music training
• Inability to play a classical guitar physically
• Inability to follow instruction
• Receiving physical therapy at the time of the study
• Unable to attend all sessions of study

• Minimum Eligible Age: 50 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 90 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

University of Washington

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Christopher Adams

Acting Instructor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Christopher Adams, MS, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Washington

Locations

Northwest Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association

Seattle, Washington, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Christopher Adams, MS, MD

Role: CONTACT

caadams1@uw.edu

206-616-5207

Facility Contacts

Christopher Adams, MS, MD

Role: primary

caadams1@uw.edu

References

Adams C, Fulton G. A Cross-over Pilot Study on the Effects of Classical Guitar Instruction on Motor and Non-Motor Symptoms in People with Parkinson's Disease. Neurosci Insights. 2025 Mar 24;20:26331055251329878. doi: 10.1177/26331055251329878. eCollection 2025.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 40143890 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

STUDY00017748

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id