Citation

Shen X, Mak MK. Neurorehabil. Neural Repair 2014; 28(6): 524-535.

Affiliation

Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, American Society of Neurorehabilitation, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1545968313517752

PMID

24407915

Abstract

BACKGROUND: . Fear of falling has been identified as an important and independent fall-risk predictor in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, there are inconsistent findings on the effects of balance and gait training on balance confidence. OBJECTIVE: . To explore whether balance and gait training with augmented feedback can enhance balance confidence in PD patients immediately after treatment and at 3- and 12-month follow-ups. METHODS: . A total of 51 PD patients were randomly assigned to a balance and gait training (BAL) group or to an active control (CON) group. The BAL group received balance and gait training with augmented feedback, whereas CON participants received lower-limb strength training for 12 weeks. Outcome measures included Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale, limits-of-stability test, single-leg-stance test, and spatiotemporal gait characteristics. All tests were administered before intervention (Pre), immediately after training (Post), and at 3 months (Post3m) and 12 months (Post12m) after treatment completion. RESULTS: . The ABC score improved marginally at Post and significantly at Post3m and Post12m only in the BAL group (P < .017). Both participant groups increased their end point excursion at Post, but only the BAL group maintained the improvement at Post3m. The BAL group maintained significantly longer time-to-loss-of-balance during the single-leg stance test than the CON group at Post3m and Post12m (P < .05). For gait characteristics, both participant groups increased gait velocity, but only the BAL group increased stride length at Post, Post3m, and Post12m (P < .017). CONCLUSIONS: . Positive findings from this study provide evidence that BAL with augmented feedback could enhance balance confidence and balance and gait performance in patients with PD.

Language: en