Seeking Exercise Early After Parkinson's Diagnosis Key for Results

Exercise may help people with Parkinson’s disease improve their balance, mobility and quality of life but it should be started early on after diagnosis.

About 60 percent of patients who have Parkinson’s suffer a fall every year. Two-thirds of them fall repeatedly.

“The resulting injuries, pain, limitations of activity and fear of falling again can really affect people’s health and well-being,” said study author Colleen G. Canning, PhD, of the University of Sydney in Australia.

For the study, 231 people with Parkinson’s disease either received their usual care or took part in an exercise program of 40 to 60 minutes of balance and leg strengthening exercises three times a week for six months. This minimally-supervised exercise program was prescribed and monitored by a physical therapist with participants performing most of the exercise at home. On average, 13 percent of the exercise sessions were supervised by a physical therapist.

Compared to those in the control group, the number of falls by participants who exercised was reduced in those with less severe Parkinson’s disease, but not in those with more severe disease. Those who had less severe disease and exercised, experienced a 70-percent reduction in falling.

“These results suggest that minimally-supervised exercise programs aimed at reducing falls in people with Parkinson’s should be started early in the disease process,” Canning said.

Overall, those who took part in the exercise program performed better on tests of ability to move around and balance, had a lower fear of falls and reported better overall mood and quality of life.

The study was supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and the Harry Secomb Foundation.

Source: American Academy of Neurology news release

+ At Bon Secours In Motion our physical therapy clinic at DePaul Medical Center offers a non-invasive treatment program for Parkinson’s patients struggling with the activities of daily living. “BIG” is the treatment of Parkinson’s through an evidenced based intensive amplitude-based exercise program for the limb motor system and re-education of the sensorimotor system. The goal of the BIG program is to help these patients perform their activities of daily living with greater ease.