Effect of Proprioceptive Training Compared With Other Interventions for Upper Limb Deficits in People With Parkinson Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the efficacy of proprioceptive training on hand dexterity, upper limb function, and quality of life (QoL) in people with Parkinson disease (PD) compared with no or other active interventions. DATA SOURCES: Medline PubMed, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PEDro, and Web of Science databases were searched to identify published studies until February 2023. STUDY SELECTION: Peer-reviewed English publications of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of proprioceptive training conducted among people with PD. DATA EXTRACTION: Study characteristics, exercise program type and dosage, outcome of interest, and between-group comparisons of post-test results of intervention and comparison groups. DATA SYNTHESIS: Eight RCTs were included, involving 344 people with PD. Six RCTs contributed to meta-analyses. There was very low certainty of evidence that proprioceptive training may improve dominant hand (standard mean difference [SMD] 0.34, 95% CI 0.08-0.60, P=.01) and non-dominant hand (SMD 0.36, 95% CI 0.10-0.63, P<.01) fine motor dexterity, and dominant hand gross manual dexterity (SMD 1.73, 95% CI 0.30-3.16, P=.02), following 2-8 weeks of proprioceptive training. There was no evidence of effects on non-dominant hand gross manual dexterity, upper limb function, and QoL after proprioceptive training. CONCLUSIONS: Findings regarding the effect of proprioceptive training on hand dexterity in the short-term are inconclusive. The small sample size likely limited effect detection. Future large RCTs should compare proprioceptive training with no intervention and perform comprehensive biomechanical analysis to gain a clearer idea of its effects. Incorporating longer-duration proprioceptive training programs is also recommended to investigate long-lasting effects.

Utilising telehealth to support exercise and physical activity in people with Parkinson disease: a program evaluation using mixed methods.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity and exercise play a key role in managing Parkinson disease. This study aimed to: 1) determine if physiotherapy supported by telehealth helped people with Parkinson disease (PwP) to adhere to a home-based exercise program and maintain their physical activity; and 2) understand their experiences of using telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A mixed methods program evaluation involving a retrospective file audit from a student-run physiotherapy clinic and semi-structured interviews exploring participants' experiences of telehealth. Ninety-six people with mild to moderate disease received home-based telehealth physiotherapy for 21 weeks. The primary outcome was adherence to the prescribed exercise program. Secondary outcomes were measures of physical activity. Interviews were conducted with 13 clients and seven students and analysed thematically. RESULTS: Adherence to the prescribed exercise program was high. The mean (SD) proportion of prescribed sessions completed was 108% (46%). On average clients spent 29 (12) minutes per session, and 101 (55) minutes per week exercising. Physical activity levels were maintained, with clients taking 11,226 (4,832) steps per day on entry to telehealth, and 11,305 (4,390) steps per day on exit from telehealth. The semi-structured interviews identified important features of a telehealth service required to support exercise; a flexible approach of clients and therapists, empowerment, feedback, a therapeutic relationship, and mode of delivery. CONCLUSIONS: PwP were able to continue exercising at home and maintain their physical activity when physiotherapy was provided via telehealth. The flexible approach of both the client and the service was imperative.

Interventions for preventing falls in Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: Most people with Parkinson's disease (PD) experience at least one fall during the course of their disease. Several interventions designed to reduce falls have been studied. An up-to-date synthesis of evidence for interventions to reduce falls in people with PD will assist with informed decisions regarding fall-prevention interventions for people with PD. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of interventions designed to reduce falls in people with PD. SEARCH METHODS: CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, four other databases and two trials registers were searched on 16 July 2020, together with reference checking, citation searching and contact with study authors to identify additional studies. We also conducted a top-up search on 13 October 2021. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of interventions that aimed to reduce falls in people with PD and reported the effect on falls. We excluded interventions that aimed to reduce falls due to syncope. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We used standard Cochrane Review procedures. Primary outcomes were rate of falls and number of people who fell at least once. Secondary outcomes were the number of people sustaining one or more fall-related fractures, quality of life, adverse events and economic outcomes. The certainty of the evidence was assessed using GRADE. MAIN RESULTS: This review includes 32 studies with 3370 participants randomised. We included 25 studies of exercise interventions (2700 participants), three studies of medication interventions (242 participants), one study of fall-prevention education (53 participants) and three studies of exercise plus education (375 participants). Overall, participants in the exercise trials and the exercise plus education trials had mild to moderate PD, while participants in the medication trials included those with more advanced disease. All studies had a high or unclear risk of bias in one or more items. Illustrative risks demonstrating the absolute impact of each intervention are presented in the summary of findings tables. Twelve studies compared exercise (all types) with a control intervention (an intervention not thought to reduce falls, such as usual care or sham exercise) in people with mild to moderate PD. Exercise probably reduces the rate of falls by 26% (rate ratio (RaR) 0.74, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.63 to 0.87; 1456 participants, 12 studies; moderate-certainty evidence). Exercise probably slightly reduces the number of people experiencing one or more falls by 10% (risk ratio (RR) 0.90, 95% CI 0.80 to 1.00; 932 participants, 9 studies; moderate-certainty evidence).  We are uncertain whether exercise makes little or no difference to the number of people experiencing one or more fall-related fractures (RR 0.57, 95% CI 0.28 to 1.17; 989 participants, 5 studies; very low-certainty evidence). Exercise may slightly improve health-related quality of life immediately following the intervention (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.17, 95% CI -0.36 to 0.01; 951 participants, 5 studies; low-certainty evidence). We are uncertain whether exercise has an effect on adverse events or whether exercise is a cost-effective intervention for fall prevention. Three studies trialled a cholinesterase inhibitor (rivastigmine or donepezil). Cholinesterase inhibitors may reduce the rate of falls by 50% (RaR 0.50, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.58; 229 participants, 3 studies; low-certainty evidence). However, we are uncertain if this medication makes little or no difference to the number of people experiencing one or more falls (RR 1.01, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.14230 participants, 3 studies) and to health-related quality of life (EQ5D Thermometer mean difference (MD) 3.00, 95% CI -3.06 to 9.06; very low-certainty evidence). Cholinesterase inhibitors may increase the rate of non fall-related adverse events by 60% (RaR 1.60, 95% CI 1.28 to 2.01; 175 participants, 2 studies; low-certainty evidence). Most adverse events were mild and transient in nature.  No data was available regarding the cost-effectiveness of medication for fall prevention. We are uncertain of the effect of education compared to a control intervention on the number of people who fell at least once (RR 10.89, 95% CI 1.26 to 94.03; 53 participants, 1 study; very low-certainty evidence), and no data were available for the other outcomes of interest for this comparisonWe are also uncertain (very low-certainty evidence) whether exercise combined with education makes little or no difference to the number of falls (RaR 0.46, 95% CI 0.12 to 1.85; 320 participants, 2 studies), the number of people sustaining fall-related fractures (RR 1.45, 95% CI 0.40 to 5.32,320 participants, 2 studies), or health-related quality of life (PDQ39 MD 0.05, 95% CI -3.12 to 3.23, 305 participants, 2 studies). Exercise plus education may make little or no difference to the number of people experiencing one or more falls (RR 0.89, 95% CI 0.75 to 1.07; 352 participants, 3 studies; low-certainty evidence). We are uncertain whether exercise combined with education has an effect on adverse events or is a cost-effective intervention for fall prevention.  AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Exercise interventions probably reduce the rate of falls, and probably slightly reduce the number of people falling in people with mild to moderate PD.  Cholinesterase inhibitors may reduce the rate of falls, but we are uncertain if they have an effect on the number of people falling. The decision to use these medications needs to be balanced against the risk of non fall-related adverse events, though these adverse events were predominantly mild or transient in nature. Further research in the form of large, high-quality RCTs are required to determine the relative impact of different types of exercise and different levels of supervision on falls, and how this could be influenced by disease severity. Further work is also needed to increase the certainty of the effects of medication and further explore falls prevention education interventions both delivered alone and in combination with exercise.

Exercising with Parkinson's: The good, the bad and the need for support to keep exercising. A qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the experiences of people with Parkinson's disease exercising and to determine if the location (home versus centre) or exercising in a group impacted on their experience. DESIGN: A qualitative study. PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling people with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease who had undertaken a 10-week exercise intervention. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 participants; nine participants had completed 10-weeks of predominately home-based exercise and eight participants had predominately centre-based excercise. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Four key themes emerged. Two themes: 'targeted exercise is important when you have Parkinson's disease' and 'support helps me to gain the most from the exercise', were related to exercising with Parkinson's disease and were not specific to location. Two themes encompassed the perceptions when exercising at a centre in a group compared to exercising at home: 'the good and the bad of exercising in a group' and 'exercising at home, can I do it?' CONCLUSION: Experiences of people with Parkinson's disease when exercising were primarily influenced by the prescription of specific exercise and the support provided. There was no clear preference for the location of exercise but maintaining the motivation to exercise at home was challenging.

Home-based exercise monitored with telehealth is feasible and acceptable compared to centre-based exercise in Parkinson's disease: A randomised pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the feasibility and acceptability of a home-based exercise program monitored using telehealth for people with Parkinson's disease. DESIGN: Pilot randomised control trial. SETTING: University physiotherapy clinic, participants' homes. PARTICIPANTS: Forty people with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease, mean age 72 (6.9). INTERVENTION: In Block 1 (5 weeks) all participants completed predominantly centre-based exercise plus a self-management program. Participants were then randomised to continue the centre-based exercise (n = 20) or to a home-based program with telehealth (n = 20) for Block 2 (5 weeks). The exercises targeted balance and gait. OUTCOMES: The primary outcomes were the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Secondary outcomes were balance, gait speed and freezing of gait. RESULTS: Adherence was high in Block 1 (93%), and Block 2 (centre-based group = 93%, home-based group = 84%). In Block 2, the physiotherapist spent 6.4 hours providing telehealth to the home-based group (mean 10 (4) minutes per participant) and 32.5 hours delivering the centre-based exercise classes (98 minutes per participant). Participants reported that exercise was helpful, they could follow the home program and they would recommend exercising at home or in a group. However, exercising at home was less satisfying and there was a mixed response to the acceptability of the self-management program. There was no difference between groups in any of the secondary outcome measures (preferred walking speed mean difference -0.04 (95% CI: -0.12 to 0.05). CONCLUSION: Home-based exercise monitored using telehealth for people with Parkinson's disease is feasible and acceptable.

Predicting falls in people with Parkinson's disease: impact of methodological approaches on predictors identified.

BACKGROUND: Previous investigations of falls predictors in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) have used various statistical methods and categorization of falls outcomes. The impact of methodological differences on falls predictors has not been investigated. OBJECTIVES: To describe similarities and differences in predictors modelled for fall rates [negative binomial (NB), Poisson Inverse Gaussian (PIG) and quantile regression] and previously-reported predictors of time to second fall (Cox regression), i.e. past falls, motor fluctuations, disability, levodopa dose and balance impairment. To investigate whether predictors from quantile regression vary across subsets of fallers based on fall frequency. METHODS: Participants with PD (n = 229) were followed-up for 12 months. NB and PIG regression were used to determine predictors of fall rates, with the best fitting model reported. Quantile regression was used to determine predictors at higher (62nd, 70th, 80th) percentiles of the falls distribution. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. RESULTS: Predictors of fall rates were the same in NB and PIG multivariate models, with the PIG model fitting our data better. Past falls, disability and levodopa dose were associated with fall rates from PIG and quantile regression. Freezing of gait was associated with fall rates from PIG regression. Disease severity predicted less (70th percentile, approximately 2-4) and more (80th percentile, approximately ≥ 5) frequent falls, and anteroposterior stability also predicted less frequent falls (p < 0.05), from quantile regression. CONCLUSIONS: Not all predictors of time to second fall were predictors of fall rates. Quantile regression revealed some divergent predictors depending on the percentile of fall frequency examined.

Home-based step training using videogame technology in people with Parkinson's disease: a single-blinded randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether 12-week home-based exergame step training can improve stepping performance, gait and complementary physical and neuropsychological measures associated with falls in Parkinson's disease. DESIGN: A single-blinded randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Community (experimental intervention), university laboratory (outcome measures). SUBJECTS: Sixty community-dwelling people with Parkinson's disease. INTERVENTIONS: Home-based step training using videogame technology. MAIN MEASURES: The primary outcomes were the choice stepping reaction time test and Functional Gait Assessment. Secondary outcomes included physical and neuropsychological measures associated with falls in Parkinson's disease, number of falls over six months and self-reported mobility and balance. RESULTS: Post intervention, there were no differences between the intervention ( n = 28) and control ( n = 25) groups in the primary or secondary outcomes except for the Timed Up and Go test, where there was a significant difference in favour of the control group ( P = 0.02). Intervention participants reported mobility improvement, whereas control participants reported mobility deterioration-between-group difference on an 11-point scale = 0.9 (95% confidence interval: -1.8 to -0.1, P = 0.03). Interaction effects between intervention and disease severity on physical function measures were observed ( P = 0.01 to P = 0.08) with seemingly positive effects for the low-severity group and potentially negative effects for the high-severity group. CONCLUSION: Overall, home-based exergame step training was not effective in improving the outcomes assessed. However, the improved physical function in the lower disease severity intervention participants as well as the self-reported improved mobility in the intervention group suggest home-based exergame step training may have benefits for some people with Parkinson's disease.

Flexed Truncal Posture in Parkinson Disease: Measurement Reliability and Relationship With Physical and Cognitive Impairments, Mobility, and Balance.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Flexed truncal posture is common in people with Parkinson disease (PD); however, little is known about the mechanisms responsible or its effect on physical performance. This cross-sectional study aimed to establish the reliability of a truncal posture measurement and explore relationships between PD impairments and truncal posture, as well as truncal posture and balance and mobility. METHODS: A total of 82 people with PD participated. Truncal posture was measured in standing as the distance between vertebra C7 and a wall. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed with truncal posture and impairments, including global axial symptoms, tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, freezing of gait (FOG), reactive stepping and executive function, as well as truncal posture with balance and mobility measures. RESULTS: The truncal posture measure had excellent test-retest reliability (ICC3,1 0.79, 95% CI 0.60-0.89, P < 0.001). Global axial symptoms had the strongest association with truncal posture (adjusted R = 0.08, P = 0.01), although the majority of the variance remains unexplained. Post hoc analysis revealed that several impairments were associated with truncal posture only in those who did not report FOG. Flexed truncal posture was associated with poorer performance of most balance and mobility tasks after adjustment for age, gender, disease severity, and duration (adjusted R = 0.24-0.33, P < 0.001-0.03). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The C7 to wall measurement is highly reliable in people with PD. Global axial symptoms were independently associated with truncal posture. Greater flexed truncal posture was associated with poorer balance and mobility. Further studies are required to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for flexed truncal posture and the impact on activity.Video Abstract available for more insights from the authors (see Video, Supplemental Digital Content 1, http://links.lww.com/JNPT/A164).

The Association Between Parkinson's Disease Motor Impairments and Pain.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to: 1) examine the severity and frequency of pain and the extent to which pain interferes with work and 2) explore the contributions of motor impairments to pain in people with Parkinson's disease (PD). METHOD: Pain severity, frequency and the impact of pain on work were determined using subscores from the SF-36TM, Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire and SF-12v2TM, respectively, in 231 people with Parkinson's disease. Motor impairments were measured using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. Freezing of gait was determined as its presence or absence in the last month. Associations between impairments and pain were examined using logistic regression. RESULTS: Pain was reported by 187 (81%) participants, with 91 (39%) reporting pain of moderate severity or worse. Pain interfered with work to some extent in 158 (68%) participants. After adjusting for age and gender, increased rigidity was associated with higher pain frequency and more pain that interfered with work (for both models, Odds Ratio = 1.14, 95% confidence interval 1.0-1.3). Tremor was not associated with any measures of pain and motor impairments were not associated with pain severity. CONCLUSIONS: Most people with PD experience pain at least monthly and pain interferes with daily activities. PD impairments are associated with more frequent pain and pain that interferes with work, with rigidity having the strongest association. Development of Parkinson's disease-specific pain assessments and further investigation into the association between PD impairments and pain is warranted.

Chemical eye injuries: a 10 year retrospective review of acute presentations and clinical outcomes in Auckland, New Zealand.

To assess the aetiologies, clinical characteristics, treatment regimens, and outcomes of acute chemical injuries treated at an emergency eye clinic. Retrospective, observational study of all cases of chemical eye injury that presented acutely to the Greenlane Clinical Centre in Auckland, New Zealand from 1 January 2012 through 31 December 2021. Patient demographics, activity at the time of injury, causative chemical, clinical characteristics of injury at presentation, severity (Dua) classification, admission and discharge best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), treatment regimen, time to epithelisation and number of follow-up appointments were recorded. In total, 1522 cases involving 1919 eyes were studied. The mean age was 40.6 ± 18.8 years and 65% were male. The majority of cases occurred at home (62%) and cleaning was the most common activity (38%). There were 1490 Grade I (98%), 22 Grade II (1.5%), 5 Grade III (0.3%), 1 Grade IV (0.07%), 0 Grade V, and 4 Grade VI (0.3%) cases. An epithelial defect was noted in 409 cases (26.9%), of which re-epithelialisation occurred within one week for 378 cases (92%) and within 30 days for 384 cases (94%). Moderate vision loss (BCVA ≤ 6/12) attributed to the injury occurred in 152 (10%), while severe vision loss (BCVA ≤ 6/60) occurred in 30 (2%). Lack of irrigation at the scene was associated with an increased risk of severe injury and longstanding visual impairment (p = 0.0001). Most acute chemical injuries are mild with good clinical outcomes. Although rare, severe injuries are associated with a lack of irrigation at the scene and worse visual outcomes.

A Mixed Methods Approach to Explore the Experience of Pain and Its Management in People with Parkinson's Disease.

Introduction: Pain in Parkinson's disease (PD) is common but poorly understood, with most research to date taking a mechanistic approach. This mixed methods study takes a broader biopsychosocial approach to assess and describe contributors of pain and explore pain management and the relationship between pain and physical activity in people with PD (PwPD) and chronic pain. Methods: A structured survey evaluated respondents' contributors of pain using standardized, self-report assessments of the following: pain, peripheral neuropathy, central nociplastic change, emotional dysregulation or pathology, and maladaptive cognitions. Semistructured individual interviews were conducted with purposively sampled survey participants and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Results: Eighty-nine PwPD (mean age 67 years, 55% female) completed the survey. The most common pain contributors were maladaptive cognitions (62%), central nociplastic change (49%), and emotional dysregulation (44%). Approaches to pain management and the response to physical activity were variable within and across individuals with different pain contributors. Four themes emerged from interviews with 24 participants: (1) causative perceptions of pain are diverse; (2) sense of control influences disease acceptance and exercise self-efficacy; (3) belief in the value of therapy; and (4) pain as the unspoken PD symptom. Physical activity was used by PwPD for pain management; however, the relationship between pain and physical activity varied based on sense of control. Conclusions: Clinicians should screen for pain and assess its contributors to provide individualized, multidimensional pain management that considers the biological, psychological, and social factors of pain in PwPD. It is plausible that such an approach would promote a better sense of control for PwPD.

The acceptability and accessibility of magnetic walking aids when used in hospital: a randomised trial.

PURPOSE: Poor walking aid compliance and accessibility can put the user at an increased risk of falls. We explored the acceptability and accessibility of magnetic walking aids (MWAs) compared to standard walking aids (SWAs) in inpatients following joint replacement. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A non-blinded pilot randomised controlled trial was conducted. Inpatients following hip or knee replacement were randomly allocated to the MWA group (n = 20) or the SWA group (n = 20). Primary outcomes were the acceptability and accessibility of the MWA compared to the SWA during their inpatient stay, assessed through made-to-measure patient and staff questionnaires. The secondary outcome was the number of times the walking aid came to rest on the floor, measured using logbooks kept by participants. RESULTS: The participants in the MWA group reported their aid was more easily accessible, and that they were more likely to use their aid in their room than participants in the SWA group. Participants in the MWA group dropped their aid less often, with a median of 0.3 walking aid drops per day in the MWA group and 1.1 drops per day in the SWA group (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: The results of this pilot randomised trial suggest MWAs may be an acceptable and inexpensive intervention for improving walking aid accessibility and adherence and reducing walking aid drops when compared to SWAs.

Magnetic walking aids may be a simple and cost effective way for improving walking aid compliance compared to standard walking aids.Walking aid adherence can be difficult to monitor within hospital and community settings.Magnetic walking aids may be safe to use in a controlled inpatient hospital environment with no adverse effects.Magnetic walking aids may reduce the number of instances a walking aid inadvertently comes to rest on the floor. This is of particular importance to patients post-operatively. For example, total hip replacements, where reaching to pick up an aid from the floor could lead to hip dislocation.

COVID-19 vaccination and corneal allograft rejection- a review.

Aim: To provide a comprehensive literature review on the perceived correlation between COVID-19 vaccination and corneal allograft rejection, and to characterize risk factors, time course, graft outcomes and proposed immunological basis. Methods: A literature review was conducted in August 2023 using 4 electronic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE and Scopus. Articles were sourced using key words associated with COVID-19 vaccination and corneal graft. All articles were screened for relevance by abstract review. Duplicates and articles related to COVID-19 infection were excluded. No time limits were set. Additional literature searches regarding cause of corneal graft rejection, rates of graft rejection associated with other vaccines and the cellular mechanism of rejection were also performed. Results: 262 articles were identified from the literature search. 37 papers were included in the analysis based on defined inclusion criteria. This consisted of systematic reviews (n=6), review articles (n=5), retrospective studies (n=3), case series (n=8), letter to the editor (n=1) and case reports (n= 14). The majority of reported allograft rejections were in penetrating keratoplasties. Risk factors for COVID-19 vaccination associated rejection were previous allograft rejection episodes, repeat grafts and penetrating keratoplasty. Most reported rejection episodes were mild and resolved with treatment. Notably, several studies reported nil increase in corneal allograft rejection episodes over the COVID-19 vaccination period. Rejection episodes are associated with a broad spectrum of other vaccines and the complete pathophysiology is undetermined. Conclusion: Corneal allograft rejection appears to be a rare complication of COVID-19 vaccination most frequently observed in high-risk corneal transplants. The true extent of this correlation remains controversial; however, clinician awareness of this risk is essential to its mitigation. Patient counselling around symptom monitoring following vaccination and discussion around topical steroid prophylaxis may be prudent.

The effect of rehabilitation interventions on freezing of gait in people with Parkinson's disease is unclear: a systematic review and meta-analyses.

PURPOSE: To summarize the effects of rehabilitation interventions to reduce freezing of gait (FOG) in people with Parkinson's disease. METHODS: A systematic review with meta-analyses of randomized trials of rehabilitation interventions that reported a FOG outcome was conducted. Quality of included studies and certainty of FOG outcome were assessed using the PEDro scale and GRADE framework. RESULTS: Sixty-five studies were eligible, with 62 trialing physical therapy/exercise, and five trialing cognitive and/or behavioral therapies. All meta-analyses produced very low-certainty evidence. Physical therapy/exercise had a small effect on reducing FOG post-intervention compared to control (Hedges' g= -0.26, 95% CI= -0.38 to -0.14, 95% prediction interval (PI)= -0.38 to -0.14). We are uncertain of the effects on FOG post-intervention when comparing: exercise with cueing to without cueing (Hedges' g= -0.58, 95% CI= -0.86 to -0.29, 95% PI= -1.23 to 0.08); action observation training plus movement strategy practice to practice alone (Hedges' g= -0.56, 95% CI= -1.16 to 0.05); and dance to multimodal exercises (Hedges' g= -0.64, 95% CI= -1.53 to 0.25). CONCLUSIONS: We are uncertain if physical therapy/exercise, cognitive or behavioral therapies, are effective at reducing FOG.Implications for rehabilitationFOG leads to impaired mobility and falls, but the effect of rehabilitation interventions (including physical therapy/exercise and cognitive/behavioral therapies) on FOG is small and uncertain.Until more robust evidence is generated, clinicians should assess FOG using both self-report and physical measures, as well as other related impairments such as cognition, anxiety, and fear of falling.Interventions for FOG should be personalized based on the individual's triggers and form part of a broader exercise program addressing gait, balance, and falls prevention.Interventions should continue over the long term and be closely monitored and adjusted as individual circumstances change.

Does Exercise Attenuate Disease Progression in People With Parkinson's Disease? A Systematic Review With Meta-Analyses.

INTRODUCTION: Exercise has many benefits for people with Parkinson's disease (PD) and has been suggested to modify PD progression, but robust evidence supporting this is lacking. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review (PROSPERO registration: CRD42020169999) investigated whether exercise may have neuroplastic effects indicative of attenuating PD progression. METHODS: Six databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared the effect of exercise to control (no or sham exercise) or to another form of exercise, on indicators of PD progression (eg, brain-derived neurotrophic factor [BDNF], brain activation, "off" Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale [UPDRS] scores). Trial quality was assessed using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database Scale. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed where at least 3 comparable trials reported the same outcome; remaining results were synthesized narratively. RESULTS: Forty-nine exercise trials involving 2104 PD participants were included. Compared to control, exercise improved "off" UPDRS motor scores (Hedge's g -0.39, 95% CI: -0.65 to -0.13, P = .003) and BDNF concentration (Hedge's g 0.54, 95% CI: 0.10-0.98, P = .02), with low to very low certainty of evidence, respectively. Narrative synthesis for the remaining outcomes suggested that compared to control, exercise may have neuroplastic effects. The exercise versus exercise comparisons were too heterogenous to enable pooling of results. DISCUSSION: This review provides limited evidence that exercise may have an attenuating effect on potential markers of PD progression. Further large RCTs are warranted to explore differential effects by exercise type, dose and PD stage, and should report on a core set of outcomes indicative of PD progression.

The Psychological Impacts of Taking Physiotherapy Teaching Online in 2020: What Did We Learn?

INTRODUCTION: The rapid shift to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges for physical therapy (PT) education worldwide. This article aims to explore the factors influencing the well-being of the PT faculty and department chairs involved in delivering PT programs during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. REVIEW OF LITERATURE: The literature has focused on the pedagogical impacts of the rapid shift to online learning. Little is known about the social and psychological impacts of this rapid transition on the well-being of the faculty involved in implementing PT programs. SUBJECTS: Physical therapy faculty and department chairs at 3 universities in metropolitan Sydney, Australia who taught into or led PT programs in 2020. METHODS: Focus group methodology was used to explore the experiences of PT faculty and department chairs during the initial stages of the COVID pandemic. The focus groups were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim and the transcripts analyzed thematically. RESULTS: The main finding of this study was the extent of stress experienced by PT program faculty and chairs during this period. Both work-related institutional and faculty factors and non-work-related personal factors contributed to perceived high levels of stress. Overall, there was a feeling that the stressors had not improved over the duration of the pandemic and that this had left the faculty and chairs feeling more fatigued, less collegiate, and may have ongoing impacts on their mental health. DISCUSSION: The pandemic created stresses for faculty and program chairs over and above the usual stress of faculty and college work. The reality of taking steps to reduce the stressors in the current climate is very difficult. CONCLUSION: Moving forward, it is vital to secure increased institutional support, including the support for creating realistic boundaries without the risk of penalty, to address the psychological health and well-being of PT faculty and chairs to enable high-quality education in the future.

Home-based treadmill training for individuals with Parkinson's disease: a randomized controlled pilot trial.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of six weeks of home-based treadmill training in people with mild Parkinson's disease. DESIGN: Pilot randomized controlled trial of a six-week intervention followed by a further six weeks follow-up. SETTING: Home-based treadmill training with outcome measures taken at a hospital clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty cognitively intact participants with mild Parkinson's disease and gait disturbance. Two participants from the treadmill training group and one from the control group dropped out. INTERVENTIONS: The treadmill training group undertook a semi-supervised home-based programme of treadmill walking for 20-40 minutes, four times a week for six weeks. The control group received usual care. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The feasibility of the intervention was assessed by recording exercise adherence and acceptability, exercise intensity, fatigue, muscle soreness and adverse events. The primary outcome measure of efficacy was walking capacity (6-minute walk test distance). RESULTS: Home-based treadmill training was feasible, acceptable and safe with participants completing 78% (SD 36) of the prescribed training sessions. The treadmill training group did not improve their walking capacity compared to the control group. The treadmill training group showed a greater improvement than the control group in fatigue at post test (P = 0.04) and in quality of life at six weeks follow-up testing (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Semi-supervised home-based treadmill training is a feasible and safe form of exercise for cognitively intact people with mild Parkinson's disease. Further investigation regarding the effectiveness of home-based treadmill training is warranted.

How does perceived fall risk influence decisions about whether to undertake activities in people with Parkinson's disease and their care partners? A qualitative study.

PURPOSE: To explore how perceptions of fall risk influence decisions to undertake activities in people with Parkinson's disease who have fallen, along with their care-partners. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews to collect data from eight people with moderate to severe Parkinson's Disease and freezing of gait (including those with cognitive impairments) and their care-partners. An inductive approach to thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. RESULTS: Four main, interconnected themes emerged, and a framework was developed to illustrate these connections. Weighing up the risks and benefits reflected the constant tension between assessing the likelihood of falling and potential benefit of any activity; Being fearful heightened the perceived risk resulting in a tendency to avoid or modify activities; Desire to lead a normal life heightened the perceived benefit of any activity, leading towards risk taking behaviour; It's a part of Parkinson's provided the context in which the decision-making process took place, with the reality of a progressive disorder influencing choices and contributing to a belief that falls were inevitable. CONCLUSIONS: There is a complex interaction between perceptions of fall risk and behaviour. An understanding of these interactions will assist therapists to tailor individualised fall prevention interventions.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONPeople are constantly weighing up the risks and benefits of activities while balancing fear of falling and a desire to lead a normal life in the context of Parkinson's disease.The resulting activity choices vary along a continuum from avoiding activities to taking risks, with a common approach to minimise the risk and then embrace the activity.Therapists can help people with Parkinson's and their care-partners to determine what level of risk is acceptable for them when balancing risk with quality of life.Understanding how people decide if they will undertake an activity that poses a risk of falling will allow therapists and patients to co-design fall prevention and management interventions based on the patient's values and priorities.

The accuracy of self-report logbooks of adherence to prescribed home-based exercise in Parkinson's disease.

PURPOSE: This study compared self-report logbooks of exercise performance to objective measures of performance to determine the accuracy of and patterns of misreporting in self-report logbooks in people with Parkinson's disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen participants from the intervention arm of a randomized control trial were prescribed a minimally supervised, 12-week, home-based upper limb exergame program (ACTRN 12614001048673). The exergame system provided an objective electronic measure of adherence for comparison with self-report logbooks. RESULTS: Logbooks showed excellent to good accuracy of overall reported adherence to prescribed sessions (Intraclass correlation (ICC) = 0.83) and games (ICC 0.71). Logbooks were also a good to fair representation of weekly adherence across participants for both sessions (ICC 0.66) and games (ICC 0.56). Individual participant ICCs ranged from minimal to perfect agreement between logbooks and electronic records (ICC sessions range: -0.02 to 1; games range: -0.24 to 0.99). The pattern of logbook reporting suggested some participants were biasing entries to match prescribed exercise. CONCLUSIONS: Self-report logbooks may provide an accurate measure of overall adherence. However, the accuracy of individual logbooks was highly variable indicating caution is needed in using self-report measures to assess individual adherence in intervention studies and for clinical decision making. Clinical Trial Registration: Registered in Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (https://www.anzctr.org.au/): Registration number: ACTRN12614001048673.Implications for rehabilitationAdherence to prescribed unsupervised exercise is usually self-reported.Self-reported logbooks gave a good to excellent indication of exercise adherence overall when compared to electronically captured records for a group of participants with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease.There were high levels of variability in the accuracy of individual logbooks with a tendency to record prescribed rather than actual exercise.Logbooks may be accurate to monitor group adherence, but caution is required when using them to assess an individual's adherence to an exercise prescription.

The Ziegler Test Is Reliable and Valid for Measuring Freezing of Gait in People With Parkinson Disease.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine interrater and test-retest reliability of the Ziegler test to measure freezing of gait (FOG) severity in people with Parkinson disease. Secondary aims were to evaluate test validity and explore Ziegler test duration as a proxy FOG severity measure. METHODS: Physical therapists watched 36 videos of people with Parkinson disease and FOG perform the Ziegler test and rated FOG severity using the rating scale in real time. Two researchers rated 12 additional videos and repeated the ratings at least 1 week later. Interrater and test-retest reliability were calculated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Bland-Altman plots were used to visualize agreement between the researchers for test-retest reliability. Correlations between the Ziegler scores, Ziegler test duration, and percentage of time frozen (based on video annotations) were determined using Pearson r. RESULTS: Twenty-four physical therapists participated. Overall, the Ziegler test showed good interrater (ICC2,1 = 0.80; 95% CI = 0.65-0.92) and excellent test-retest (ICC3,1 = 0.91; 95% CI = 0.82-0.96) reliability when used to measure FOG. It was also a valid measure, with a high correlation (r = 0.72) between the scores and percentage of time frozen. Ziegler test duration was moderately correlated (r = 0.67) with percentage of time frozen and may be considered a proxy FOG severity measure. CONCLUSION: The Ziegler test is a reliable and valid tool to measure FOG when used by physical therapists in real time. Ziegler test duration may be used as a proxy for measuring FOG severity. IMPACT: Despite FOG being a significant contributor to falls and poor mobility in people with Parkinson disease, current tools to assess FOG are either not suitably responsive or too resource intensive for use in clinical settings. The Ziegler test is a reliable and valid measure of FOG, suitable for clinical use, and may be used by physical therapists regardless of their level of clinical experience.