Article

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of six weeks of
home-based treadmill training in people with mild Parkinson's disease. DESIGN:
Pilot randomized controlled trial of a six-week intervention followed by a
further six weeks follow-up. SETTING: Home-based treadmill training with outcome
measures taken at a hospital clinic. PARTICIPANTS:
Twenty cognitively intact
participants with mild Parkinson's disease and gait disturbance. Two participants
from the treadmill training group and one from the control group dropped out.
The treadmill training group undertook a semi-supervised
home-based programme of treadmill walking for 20-40 minutes, four times a week
for six weeks. The control group received usual care. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The
feasibility of the intervention was assessed by recording exercise adherence and
acceptability, exercise intensity, fatigue, muscle soreness and adverse events.
The primary outcome measure of efficacy was walking capacity (6-minute walk test
distance). RESULTS: Home-based treadmill training was feasible, acceptable and
safe with participants completing 78% (SD 36) of the prescribed training
sessions. The treadmill training group did not improve their walking capacity
compared to the control group. The treadmill training group showed a greater
improvement than the control group in fatigue at post test (P = 0.04) and in
quality of life at six weeks follow-up testing (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS:
Semi-supervised home-based treadmill training is a feasible and safe form of
exercise for cognitively intact people with mild Parkinson's disease. Further
investigation regarding the effectiveness of home-based treadmill training is
warranted.

Langue : ANGLAIS