RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) causes motor and non-motor impairments that affect the subject's quality of life. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of treadmill-walking training with additional body load on the quality of life and motor function of subjects with PD. METHODS: Nine subjects with PD, Hoehn and Yahr stages 2-3, not demented and with capability to ambulate independently took part in this study. The training program was divided into three phases (A1-B-A2): treadmill training with additional body load (A1), control condition (conventional physical therapy group; B) and a second period of treadmill training with load (A2). Each phase lasted six weeks. Quality of life and motor function were assessed by the PDQ-39 and the motor score of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), respectively. The evaluations and the training were performed during the on-phase of the medication cycle. RESULTS: There was improvement in the total PDQ-39 score across the training period. The subscores mobility, activities of daily living and cognition subscores significantly improved after the training period. The improvement in the total score was associated with motor and non-motor factors in all of the training phases. The UPDRS motor score also improved, however it did not present any association with the improvement in quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that the treadmill-walking training with additional body load allowed an improvement in motor and non-motor aspects related to quality of life and motor function in subjects with PD.
Assuntos
Terapia por Exercício , Doença de Parkinson/reabilitação , Qualidade de Vida , Caminhada , Idoso , Terapia por Exercício/métodos , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Suporte de CargaRESUMO
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Treadmill training with harness support is a promising, task-oriented approach to restoring locomotor function in people with poststroke hemiparesis. Although the combined use of functional electrical stimulation (FES) and treadmill training with body-weight support (BWS) has been studied before, this combined intervention was compared with the Bobath approach as opposed to BWS alone. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the combined use of FES and treadmill training with BWS on walking functions and voluntary limb control in people with chronic hemiparesis. SUBJECTS: Eight people who were ambulatory after chronic stroke were evaluated. METHODS: An A(1)-B-A(2) single-case study design was applied. Phases A(1) and A(2) included 3 weeks of gait training on a treadmill with BWS, and phase B included 3 weeks of treadmill training plus FES applied to the peroneal nerve. The Stroke Rehabilitation Assessment of Movement was used to assess motor recovery, and a videography analysis was used to assess gait parameters. RESULTS: An improvement (from 54.9% to 71.0%) in motor function was found during phase B. The spatial and temporal variables cycle duration, stance duration, and cadence as well as cycle length symmetry showed improvements when phase B was compared with phases A(1) and A(2). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The combined use of FES and treadmill training with BWS led to an improvement in motor recovery and seemed to improve the gait pattern of subjects with hemiparesis, indicating the utility of this combination method during gait rehabilitation. In addition, this single-case series showed that this alternative method of gait training--treadmill training with BWS and FES--may decrease the number of people required to carry out the training.