Abstract
Advanced age is associated with an increased risk for falls in aging adults. Older adults are also more likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD), with advanced age as the most significant risk factor. PD is a neurodegenerative disorder with four Cardinal motor symptoms: rigidity, bradykinesia, postural instability, and tremor. Thus, people (person)-with-Parkinson’s disease (PwP) have an even greater risk of falling than non-disorder age-matched peers. Exercise is an activity requiring physical effort, typically carried out to sustain or improve overall health and fitness, and it lowers the risk of falls in the general population. The sport of golf provides a low-impact all-around workout promoting a range of motion, activation of muscles in the upper and lower body, flexibility, and balance. Swinging a golf club offers a unique combination of high amplitude axial rotation, strengthening postural musculature, coordination, and stabilization, demonstrating the potential to impact PD symptoms positively. Golf may be a novel exercise treatment regimen for PD to use in conjunction with traditional medical therapy. We completed a literature review to determine the relationship between the game of golf, PD, and the risk of falls. We concluded that regularly playing golf can lower the risk for falls in community ambulating older adults with PD and demonstrates the potential to improve quality of life for PwP.
Highlights
Parkinson’s DiseaseParkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder that results from the progressive death of dopaminergic neurons located in the substantia nigra and resultant degeneration of dopaminergic pathways in the basal ganglia [1,2,3]
The unique combination of axial rotation, muscle strengthening, cognitive, and social components obtained through playing golf has yet to be fully explored as an exercise treatment regimen to reduce the risk of falls for older adults with Parkinson’s disease (PD)
PD is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder featuring the development and progression of both motor and non-motor defects. This narrative review presents golf as a physical activity to lower the risk of falls in community ambulating older adults with PD
Summary
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder that results from the progressive death of dopaminergic neurons located in the substantia nigra and resultant degeneration of dopaminergic pathways in the basal ganglia [1,2,3]. The loss of dopamine alters both inhibitory and excitatory pathways, resulting in the PD cardinal motor signs: bradykinesia (slowness of movement), tremor (trembling in hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face), impaired balance and posture, and muscle rigidity (stiffness of the limbs and trunk) [4,5,6,7]. Symptoms present gradually over several years and the progression varies from person to person, both in rate of development and the extent to which these symptoms manifest. PD is second to Alzheimer’s disease as the most common age-related chronic, neurological disorder.
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