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Washington: A new study has explored that exercisemay help people with
Parkinson'sdisease to improve their balance, ability to move around
and quality of life.
The study approached 231 people with Parkinson's disease either
received their usual care or took part in an exercise program of 40 to
60 minutes of balance and leg strengthening exercises three times a
week for six months. This minimally-supervised exercise program was
prescribed and monitored by a physical therapist with participants
performing most of the exercise at home. On average, 13 percent of the
exercise sessions were supervised by a physical therapist.
Study author Colleen G. Canning, PhD, of the University of Sydney in
Australia, said that the resulting injuries, pain, limitations of
activity and fear of falling again can really affect people's health
and well-being.
Canning said that these results suggest that minimally supervised
exercise programs aimed at reducing falls in people with Parkinson's
should be started early in the disease process.
The study observed that compared to those in the control group, the
number of falls by participants who exercised was reduced in those
with less severe Parkinson's disease, but not in those with more
severe disease and for those with less severe disease a 70 percent
reduction in falls was reported in those who exercised compared to
those who did not.
The study is published in the online issue of Neurology, the medical
journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Credit: ANI
