Persons with Morbus Parkinson commonly develop gait and balance disorders leading to dependence, loss of mobility and a high risk of falling. This study investigates the effectiveness of a sensorimotor treadmill intervention to improve walking and balance abilities in persons with early stages of Parkinson's disease. The sensorimotor treadmill training is conducted on a special treadmill device which is challenging the participants by small oscillations. This intervention, which is supposed to simulate walking on natural, uneven surfaces, is compared to a conventional treadmill training. Hypothesis: Sensorimotor treadmill training leads to larger improvements in walking and balance abilities as compared to conventional treadmill exercise.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
48
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Institute of Sport Science and Sport, Gebbertstr. 123b
Erlangen, Germany
Change from Baseline Gait Speed
Self selected walking speed is assessed on a 10 meter walk distance
Time frame: 8 weeks and 20 weeks
Change from Baseline Balance
Mini - Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Mini - BESTest), Postural Sway in the Romberg Test with eyes open and eyes closed for 30 seconds
Time frame: 8 weeks and 20 weeks
Change from Baseline Gait Performance
Two Minute Walk Test (2MWT), Timed "up-and-go" Test, Assessment of tempo-spatial gait parameters
Time frame: 8 weeks and 20 weeks
Change from Baseline Mobility
Rivermead Mobility Index
Time frame: 8 weeks and 20 weeks
Change from Baseline Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)
Time frame: 8 weeks and 20 weeks
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