Abstract
The strength of lower extremity is important for individuals to maintain balance and ambulation functions. The previous studies showed that individuals with Parkinson’s disease suffered from fatigue and strength loss of central origin. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of lower extremities’ cycling training on different components of force and fatigue in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Twenty-four individuals (13 males, 11 females, mean age: 60.58 ± 8.21 years) diagnosed with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease were randomized into training and control groups. The maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) force, voluntary activation level (VA), and twitch force of knee extensors were measured using a custom-made system with surface electrical stimulation. The general, central, and peripheral fatigue indexes (GFI, CFI, and PFI) were calculated after a fatiguing cycling protocol. Subjects received 8 weeks of low resistance cycling training (training group) or self-stretching (control group) programs. Results showed that MVC, VA, and twitch force improved (p < 0.05) only in the training group. Compared to the baseline, central fatigue significantly improved in the training group, whereas peripheral fatigue showed no significant difference in two groups. The cycling training was beneficial for individuals with Parkinson’s disease not only in muscle strengthening but also in central fatigue alleviation. Further in-depth investigation is required to confirm the effect of training and its mechanism on central fatigue.
Highlights
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease and affects 1–2 per 1000 of the population at any time
The maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), voluntary activation level (VA), and twitch force significantly increased from 82.96 ± 48.69 to 107.17 ± 50.75 kg (p = 0.002), 64.32 ± 9.60 to 74.36 ± 12.85% (p = 0.046), and 2.97 ± 2.17 to 4.06 ± 2.09 kg (p = 0.001) after 8 weeks of cycling training, respectively (Figure 3)
The main finding was that using a central fatigue-challenging intensity, the cycling training group improved in the MVC, VA, and twitch force more than the control group in patients with PD
Summary
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease and affects 1–2 per 1000 of the population at any time. PD prevalence increases with age, and PD affects 1% of the population above 60 years (Tysnes and Storstein, 2017). Cycling Training on Parkinson’s Disease problems, autonomic nervous system problems, and cognitive problems. Among these nonmotor symptoms, fatigue is considered as an independent nonmotor symptom which appears early and persists throughout the disease course. A recent meta-analysis study showed that the prevalence of fatigue was up to 50% in PD (Siciliano et al, 2018). Fatigue was moderately associated with several negative health outcomes, such as apathy, anxiety, daytime somnolence, sleep disturbances, and poor quality of life (Siciliano et al, 2018)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
