To determine whether the 8-week Hopeful Outdoor Parkinson's Exercise (HOPE) Program would be effective in improving balance performance, physical functions, gait parameter, balance confidence, health-related quality-of-life, disease-specific motor performance and fall-related outcomes in Parkinson's disease (PD) non-fallers and single fallers.
Previous studies demonstrated that multi-modal balance training program was effective in improving balance performance in people with PD. However they did not include all the balance domains and outdoor fall-prone activities have been overlooked. We designed a task- and context-specific balance training program based on the framework of the Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest) to target all six balance domains including biomechanical constraints, stability limits and verticality, anticipatory postural adjustments, reactive postural responses, sensori-motor integration and dynamic gait control.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
84
stretching, strength and functional training, Balance Dance, Modified Wing Chun, Square stepping exercise, and fall-prone activities practice
upper limb stretching and strengthening, hand agility exercises, knot tying and Chinese calligraphy
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Hong Kong SAR, China
Changes from baseline Balance Systems Evaluation Test total and subsection scores at post 4-week training, post 8-week training, 6- and 12-month follow-ups
Time frame: 12 months after intervention
Changes from baseline comfortable gait speed at post 4-week training, post 8-week training, 6- and 12-month follow-ups
Time frame: 12 months after intervention
Changes from baseline dual task timed-up-and-go time at post 4-week training, post 8-week training, 6- and 12-month follow-ups
Time frame: 12 months after intervention
Changes from baseline timed-up-and-go time at post 4-week training, post 8-week training, 6- and 12-month follow-ups
Time frame: 12 months after intervention
Changes from baseline five-times-sit-to-stand time at post 4-week training, post 8-week training, 6- and 12-month follow-ups
Time frame: 12 months after intervention
Changes from baseline one-leg stance time at post 4-week training, post 8-week training, 6- and 12-month follow-ups
Time frame: 12 months after intervention
Changes from baseline Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale at post 4-week training, post 8-week training, 6- and 12-month follow-ups
Time frame: 12 months after intervention
Changes from baseline Parkinson's disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) at post 4-week training, post 8-week training, 6- and 12-month follow-ups
Time frame: 12 months after intervention
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