Article

A nontraditional form of exercise recently applied for
patients with Parkinson disease (PD) is boxing training.
The primary purpose of
this case series is to describe the effects of disease severity and duration of
boxing training (short term and long term) on changes in balance, mobility, and
quality of life for patients with mild or moderate to severe PD. The feasibility
and safety of the boxing training program also were assessed. CASE DESCRIPTION:
Six patients with idiopathic PD attended 24 to 36 boxing training sessions for 12
weeks, with the option of continuing the training for an additional 24 weeks (a
seventh patient attended sessions for only 4 weeks).
The 90-minute sessions
included boxing drills and traditional stretching, strengthening, and endurance
exercises. Outcomes were tested at the baseline and after 12, 24, and 36 weeks of
boxing sessions (12-, 24-, and 36-week tests). The outcome measures were the
Functional Reach Test, Berg Balance Scale, Activities-specific Balance Confidence
Scale, Timed "Up & Go" Test, Six-Minute Walk Test, gait speed, cadence, stride
length, step width, activities of daily living and motor examination subscales of
the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale, and Parkinson Disease Quality of Life
Scale. OUTCOMES: Six patients completed all phases of the case series, showed
improvements on at least 5 of the 12 outcome measures over the baseline at the
12-week test, and showed continued improvements at the 24- and 36-week tests.
Patients with mild PD typically showed improvements earlier than those with
moderate to severe PD. DISCUSSION: Despite the progressive nature of PD,
the patients in this case series showed short-term and long-term improvements in
balance, gait, activities of daily living, and quality of life after the boxing
training program. A longer duration of training was necessary for patients with
moderate to severe PD to show maximal training outcomes.
The boxing training
program was feasible and safe for these patients with PD.

Langue : ANGLAIS