Complex Rehabilitation of Patients with Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

Aim: To assess the clinical effectiveness of a comprehensive rehabilitation program for patients with Parkinson’s disease Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in the regional center for movement disorders (Odesa, Ukraine). 90 patients with 1-2.5 Hoehn-Yahr stage were examined. Patients were randomly assigned to three groups (I (n=30) – standard drug therapy, II (n=30) – standard drug therapy +physical therapy, III (n=30) – standard drug therapy +physical therapy+ art therapy). The effectiveness of the therapy was assessed using the UPDRS questionnaires, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and Pegboard Test. The follow-up period was 12 months. Results: Patients of the II and III groups noted an improvement in mood after physical exertion. They observed a decrease in daytime sleepiness, a decrease in tremors, and a decrease in the intensity of anxiety and fear. During the observation period, signs of disease progression were observed only in 4 (13.3%) patients of group II, in 2 (6.7%) patients of group III and in 12 (40.0%) ) patients of the control group (respectively, χ2 = 4.18 p = 0.04 and χ2 = 7.55 p = 0.006) Conclusions: 1. The use of complex rehabilitation allows to reduce the severity of motor and non-motor manifestations of Parkinson's disease. 2. The inclusion of art therapy in the complex rehabilitation program allows to halve the number of cases of disease progression. 3. The positive effect of the use of comprehensive rehabilitation is maintained throughout the observation period.