Effect of improvement of body-weight supported treadmill training on posture and balance of elderly patients with Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Objective To explore the effect of body weight supported treadmill training (BWSTT) on posture and balance of patients with Parkinson's disease. Methods 74 patients with Parkinson's disease admitted in Zhejiang Hospital from January 2018 to June 2019 were selected. They were divided into 2 groups. The control group (38 cases) was treated with conventional drugs combined with conventional physical therapy (CPT). The observation group (36 cases) was involved with BWSTT on the basis of the treatment of control group. Unified rating scale for Parkinson's disease (UPDRS)Ⅲwas used to assess abnormal gait and posture, berg balance scale (BBS) was used to assess balanced capacity, functional independence measure (FIM) was used to assess athletic ability. Scores of UPDRSⅢ, BBS and FIM were compared before and after treatment.Ttest was used for comparison between groups and within groups. Results The scores of UPDRSⅢ, BBS, and FIM of the two groups after treatment were both significantly higher compared with those before treatment (t=2.815, 3.016, 4.281, 2.035, 2.049, 2.234, allP 0.05). After treatment, the scores of UPDRSⅢ, BBS, and FIM of observation group were significantly highe than those in the control group (t=2.346, 2.035, 3.014, allP < 0.05). Conclusion BWSTT can effectively improve the posture and balance capacity of patients with Parkinson's disease. Key words: Body-weight supported treadmill training; Parkinson's disease; Posture; Balance