Effects of augmented proprioceptive cues on the parameters of gait of individuals with Parkinson's disease.
BACKGROUND
Impairment of initiating sequential movements and processing of proprioception contribute to characteristic Parkinson's disease (PD) gait abnormalities. Many studies have used a single external cue or 2 different cues to correct PD gait.


OBJECTIVE
An aim of this study was to determine the influence of paired proprioceptive cues on gait parameters of individuals with PD.


METHODS
Double-blind randomized controlled trial.


METHODS
Subjects were 30 PD patients who had mild to moderate impairment according to the United Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). They were randomly assigned to either a routine physiotherapy program or treadmill training with vibratory stimuli applied to the feet plantar surfaces and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) as well as the same physiotherapy program. All Participants received a 45-minutes session of low intensity physiotherapy program, 3 times a week, for 8 weeks. The duration of treadmill training was 5 minutes at baseline and 25 minutes at the end of treatment. Walking speed and distance were recorded from the treadmill control panel for both groups before and immediately after the end of treatment. The Qualysis ProReflex motion analysis system was used to measure cadence, stride length, hip, knee, and ankle joints' angular excursion.


RESULTS
The cadence, stride length, and lower limb joints' angular excursion showed a significant improvement in both groups (P ≤ 0.05). These improvements in spatio-temporal parameters and angular excursion were higher in the study group than in the control group (P ≤ 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Potentiated proprioceptive feedback improves parkinsonian gait kinematics, the hip, knee, and ankle joints' angular excursion.
Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt.
Mohamed S
MS
El-Tamawy
Moshera H
MH
Darwish
Mohamed E
ME
Khallaf
Gait; Parkinson's disease; proprioceptive cues