Role of rehabilitation Parkinson's disease, by disease severity and disability pattern.

Physical therapy is recognized as one of the most helpful means of improvin g the disabling side-effects of Parkinson's disease. Techniques which reduc e stiffness, and improve muscle contracture and respiratory function are we ll established in different fields of rehabilitation including rheumatology and orthopedics. Parkinson's disease patients derive an obvious benefit fr om such treatments, suitably adapted to each stage of the disease course. N ew avenues for rehabilitation care include the cognitive approach for learn ing strategies or mental preparation for a given action in an attempt to re duce the akinesia, one of the main features of parkinsonism. Attractive as this new approach may be, its effectiveness remains to be proven.