EXERCISE TO IMPROVE SPINAL FLEXIBILITY AND FUNCTION FOR PEOPLE WITH PARKINSONS-DISEASE - A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED TRIAL

OBJECTIVES: The effectiveness of an exercise intervention for people i n early and midstage Parkinson's disease (stages 2 and 3 of Hoehn and Yahr) in improving spinal flexibility and physical performance in a sa mple of community-dwelling older people is described. DESIGN AND SETTI NG: Fifty-one men and women, aged 55-84 years, identified through adve rtisement, local support groups, and local neurologists were enrolled into a randomized, controlled trial. Subjects were assigned randomly t o an intervention or a usual care arm (i.e., no specific exercise). Of the original 51 participants, 46 completed the randomized, controlled trial. Participants in the exercise arm (n = 23) received individual instruction three times per week for 10 weeks. Participants in the usu al care arm (n = 23) were ''wait listed'' for intervention. MEASUREMEN TS: Changes over 10 weeks in spinal flexibility (i.e., functional axia l rotation) and physical performance (i.e., functional reach, timed su pine to stand) were the primary outcome measures. RESULTS: MANOVA cond ucted for the three primary outcome variables demonstrated significant differences (P less than or equal to .05) between the two groups. Fur ther analysis using ANOVA demonstrated significant differences between groups in functional axial rotation and functional reach for the inte rvention compared with the control group. There was no significant dif ference in supine to sit time. CONCLUSION: Study results demonstrate t hat improvements in axial mobility and physical performance can be ach ieved with a 10-week exercise program for people in the early and mids tages of PD.