Zeitschrift für Ernährung und Diätetik

Abstrakt

Effect on Gait Speed, Balance, Motor Symptom Rating, and Quality of Life in Those with Stage I Parkinson?s Disease Utilizing LSVT BIG�

Erin Vesey

Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) are often not referred to Physical Therapy (PT) until there are issues with mobility or falls at the later Hoehn and Yahr Stages. PTs and third-party payers do not always realize the impairments already present in early disease stages that can impact function and require intervention. Therefore, there have been no studies outlining the benefits of exercise in Stage I only. For persons with PD, deficits in motor function increase over time due to destruction of dopamine-producing cells. There is evidence that exercise can help the brain produce growth factors protective of these neurons. LSVT BIG®, an exercise program for PD, has been shown to be effective in improving mobility. The purpose of this study was to assess if participants would improve function at a level of minimal clinically important difference (MCID) on at least one of four outcome measures: Gait Speed, Berg Balance Assessment, Functional Gait Assessment, and Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Motor Section