The effect of sensory-motor training on hand and upper extremity sensory and motor function in patients with idiopathic Parkinson disease.

STUDY DESIGN: Blinded randomized controlled trial. INTRODUCTION: Patients with Parkinson disease (PD) have sensory problems, but there is still no accurate understanding of the effects of sensory-motor interventions on PD. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: To investigate the effects of sensory-motor training (SMT) on hand and upper extremity sensory and motor function in patients with PD. METHODS: Forty patients with PD were allocated to the SMT group or the control group (CG) (mean ages ± standard deviation: SMT, 61.05 ± 13.9 years; CG, 59.15 ± 11.26 years). The CG received the common rehabilitation therapies, whereas the SMT group received SMT. The SMT included discrimination of temperatures, weights, textures, shapes, and objects and was performed 5 times each week for 2 weeks. RESULTS: Significantly reducing the error rates in the haptic object recognition test (dominant hand [DH]: F = 15.36, P = .001, and effect size [ES] = 0.29; nondominant hand [NDH]: F = 9.33, P = .004, and ES = 0.21) and the error means in the wrist proprioception sensation test (DH: F = 9.11, P = .005, and ES = 0.19; NDH: F = 13.04, P = .001, and ES = 0.26) and increasing matched objects in the hand active sensation test (DH: F = 12.15, P = .001, and ES = 0.24; NDH: F = 5.03, P = .03, and ES = 0.12) founded in the SMT. Also, the DH (F = 6.65, P = .01, and ES = 0.15), both hands (F = 7.61, P = .009, and ES = 0.17), and assembly (F = 7.02, P = .01, and ES = 0.15) subtests of fine motor performance, as well as DH (F = 10.1, P = .003, and ES = 0.21) and NDH (F = 8.37, P = .006, and ES = 0.18) in upper extremity functional performance, were improved in the SMT. DISCUSSION: SMT improved hand and upper extremity sensory-motor function in patients with PD. CONCLUSION: The SMT group showed improved sensory and motor function. But these results were limited to levels 1 to 3 of the Hoehn and Yahr Scale.