| Effects of Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Programs on Balance, Gait, and Leg Strength in Elderly Patients with Parkinson’s Disease |
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Tae Seok Jeong1, Uhn Lee1, Woo Kyung Kim1, Tae Hee Kim2, Jin Young Choi3 |
1Departments of Neurosurgery, Gil Medical Center, Gachon University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea
2Departments of Rehabilitation, Gil Medical Center, Gachon University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea
3Departments of Nursing, Gil Medical Center, Gachon University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea |
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| Abstract |
Objective
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a rehabilitation program, involving a rehabilitation team, on balance, gait, and leg strength improvement in elderly patients with Parkinson’s disease(PD). Methods: Forty patients aged more than 65 years diagnosed with PD were enrolled in the study and divided into experimental and control groups depending on the decision to participate in the rehabilitation program. The 12-week rehabilitation program consisted of a combination of PD education, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and self-check home exercises. A pretest-posttest design was implemented. The differences between admission and discharge scores for the timed up and go test(TUG), functional reach test(FRT), 10-meter walk test(10MWT), and the 30s-chair stand test(30s-CST) were analyzed. Results: The scores of TUG, which evaluates balancing ability, showed a significant decrease for the experimental group after rehabilitation compared to those for the control group(p=0.008), and there was no significant difference between both groups in the FRT scores(p=0.201). The scores of 10MWT, which evaluates gait ability, showed improvement for the experimental group compared with those for the control group(p=0.070). The scores of 30s-CST to evaluate leg strength showed a significant increase for the experimental group compared to those for the control group(p=0.029). Conclusion: This study showed significant improvements in TUG and 30s-CST scores and a positive tendency in 10MWT scores. These results suggest that multidisciplinary rehabilitation has a positive effect on balance, gait, and leg strength in elderly patients with PD. |
| Key Words:
Parkinson disease, Rehabilitation, Exercise, Occupational therapy, Aged
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