Abstract
Background. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative, chronic, progressive disease, resulting mainly from the depletion of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. It is characterized by four cardinal signs, namely: bradykinesia, stiffness, tremor, and postural instability, which contribute to body balance and gait functional deficits. Among the possibilities of intervention, the Aquatic Physical Therapy (APT) stands out in the prevention and rehabilitation of motor and functional alterations, using water physical and thermal properties. Objective. To verify the effects of APT on body balance and gait. Method. This pilot study is part of quasi-experimental research involving a group with a clinical diagnosis of PD. They participated in an APT program for 12 weeks, twice a week. They were assessed with the Mini-BESTest for body balance and the Dynamic Gait Index (DGI) for gait balance. The statistical analysis was made in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Results. A total of 11 people – mean age of 70.73±3.2 years – participated in the study. After the APT program, no difference was verified in the Mini-BESTest (p=0.41) or the DGI (p=0.105). Conclusions. The APT program proposed was unable to present significant improvement regarding the balance and gait in the group of people with PD in question.
Highlights
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the movement disorders that most affect older adults. It is caused by progressive degeneration of the central nervous system (CNS) mainly due to the death of dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra[1]
The participants met the following inclusion criteria: they were from both genders, attested clinical diagnosed with idiopathic PD, classified in stages 1 to 4 in Hoehn and Yahr scale, with a clinical certificate to attend aquatic physical activities in a heated pool
The exclusion criteria, in their turn, were participants confined to a wheelchair, without independent gait, with another pathology that could cause vestibular or balance alterations, or with some deficit that impaired them from following instructions, and that had either absolute or relative contraindications to attend a heated pool
Summary
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the movement disorders that most affect older adults It is caused by progressive degeneration of the central nervous system (CNS) mainly due to the death of dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra[1]. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative, chronic, progressive disease, resulting mainly from the depletion of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. It is characterized by four cardinal signs, namely: bradykinesia, stiffness, tremor, and postural instability, which contribute to body balance and gait functional deficits. They participated in an APT program for 12 weeks, twice a week.
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