The effects of treadmill training combined with music therapy on gait freezing in Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Objective To observe the effects of treadmill training and music therapy on freezing of gait among patients with Parkinson's disease. Methods Fifty-six Parkinson's disease patients with freezing of gait were randomly divided into a control group, a treadmill training group, a music group and a united group, each of fourteen. All groups received standard medication. The treadmill training group and the music group were also given treadmill training and music therapy respectively. The united group received both treadmill training and music therapy. All of the patients were assessed in terms of freezing score, time to start a first step, incidence of falls, UPDRS-Ⅲ scores and MBI scores before and after 8 weeks of intervention. Results There were no significant differences among the 4 groups before the training. Significant differences were observed in all of the measurements between the treadmill training and united groups after the treatment. In the music group, only the average UPDRS-Ⅲ and MBI results were significantly improved after the treatment. Compared with the treadmill training and music groups, the united group showed significant differences in all of the measurements. Conclusion Treadmill training combined with music therapy is more effective than either alone in relieving gait freezing among those with Parkinson's disease. It decreases falling and improves their capacity in the activities of daily living life, thus their quality of life. Key words: Parkinson's disease; Gait freezing; Treadmill training; Music therapy