The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a forced exercise aerobic exercise program, utilizing a cycling activity, on specific gait parameters and balance in individuals with Parkinson's Disease (PD). Design: pilot, feasibility, randomized control, evaluator blinded. Subjects: Twenty four patients with idiopathic PD Hoehn and Yahr (H\&Y) stage II or III. Intervention: Participants randomly assigned to one of two exercise groups, forced exercise or self selected exercise, on cycling machine three times a week for 8 weeks. Both groups to exercise at same aerobic intensity level to keep heart rate at 60-80% heart rate max. Outcomes: Gait parameters of step length, width, and variability as measured by the GAITRite; 6 Minute Walk Test; mini-BESTest (balance testing); exercise tolerance via Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) scale.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
12
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago)
Chicago, Illinois, United States
6-minute walk test
Distance walked in 6 minutes
Time frame: 8 weeks
Stride length
Length of stride in meters as measured by the GAITrite
Time frame: 8 weeks
Step Width
Width of step in meters as measured by the GAITrite
Time frame: 8 weeks
Step variability
Standard deviation of step as measure in meters by the Gaitrite system
Time frame: 8 weeks
10 meter walk test
Time in seconds for the subject to walk 10 meters
Time frame: 8 weeks
miniBESTest (Balance Evaluation Systems Test)
Subject is scored as the 14 activities on this scale are performed, and a summary score is derived.
Time frame: 8 weeks
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