Abstract
<strong>Background:</strong> Our aim was to study the effects of visual feedback cues, responding dynamically to patient’s self-motion and provided through a portable seethrough virtual reality apparatus, on the walking abilities of patients with Parkinson’s disease. <strong>Methods:</strong> Twenty patients participated. On-line and residual effects on walking speed and stride length were measured. <strong>Results:</strong> Attaching the visual feedback device to the patient with the display turned off showed a negligible effect of about 2%. With the display turned on, 56% of the patients improved either their walking speed, or their stride length, or both, by over 20%. After device removal, and waiting for 15 minutes, the patients were instructed to walk again: 68% of the patients showed over 20% improvement in either walking speed or stride length or both. One week after participating in the first test, 36% of the patients showed over 20% improvement in baseline performance with respect to the previous test. Some of the patients reported that they still walked on the tiles in their minds. <strong>Discussion:</strong> Improvements in walking abilities were measured in patients with Parkinson’s disease using virtual reality visual feedback cues. Residual effects suggest the examination of this approach in a comprehensive therapy program.
Highlights
People with Parkinson’s disease (PD) typically show a combination of rest tremor, rigidity, hypokinesia, and postural instability
Due to conflicting results concerning the efficacy of physical therapy,[9,10] there is not yet consensus as to whether it should be routinely prescribed within a rehabilitation program for patients with PD.[9,10,11,12]
In this study we found that the on-line visual feedback-induced improvement in the walking abilities of patients on their regular medication schedule (56% of the patients showing over 20% improvement in either walking speed or stride length) is similar to that found in our previous study[27] on patients taken off their medication for 12 hours (57% of the patients improving by over 20%)
Summary
People with Parkinson’s disease (PD) typically show a combination of rest tremor, rigidity, hypokinesia, and postural instability. Recent functional neurosurgery studies demonstrate beneficial effects of pallidotomy and subthalamic nucleus (STN) stimulation on motor symptoms in PD.[1,2] Studies on the effects of STN stimulation on gait have shown improvement ranging from 36% to 68% on the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale gait sub-score scale.[3,4,5] A common non-pharmacological approach to treating gait difficulties in PD is physical therapy This used to be the principal treatment modality prior to the levodopa era and was renewed when the responsiveness to medications was found to decrease with time.[6,7,8] due to conflicting results concerning the efficacy of physical therapy,[9,10] there is not yet consensus as to whether it should be routinely prescribed within a rehabilitation program for patients with PD.[9,10,11,12]. Residual effects suggest the examination of this approach in a comprehensive therapy program
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
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 callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
