A revolutionary approach to targeting and treating walking
problems in people with Parkinson’s disease is being developed at Northumbria
University, Newcastle.
Problems, such as slow and short steps, are very common in Parkinson’s
disease and lead to increased risks of falling, as well as reduced mobility and
quality of life. However, there is no medication that can completely restore
walking ability in people with Parkinson’s, therefore physiotherapy is required
to intervene.
Dr Sam Stuart, a senior researcher
in the Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation at Northumbria University, acknowledges that while existing
physiotherapy strategies do help improve walking among Parkinson’s patients, research
needs to establish why these therapies work because not all patients are
benefiting from this ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.
His study, funded by a prestigious Clinical Research Award from the Parkinson’s Foundation, will use state-of-the-art digital technology to measure walking
and brain activity changes among patients when they are given various internal
and external prompts.
Dr Stuart said: “Numerous physiotherapy strategies have been used,
such as stepping over lines on the floor or stepping in time to a metronome
beat, to improve walking in Parkinson’s. However, these interventions haven’t
changed in decades and we don’t know why walking improves with these
physiotherapy techniques. This has led to not all patients benefiting and only
short-term walking improvements being seen.”
“It is unclear if these strategies are effective with the
progression of Parkinson’s disease, and we don’t know which type of strategy is
most effective at different stages of the disease or with more severe walking
impairment, such as freezing, which is the inability to keep walking for short
periods despite wanting to do so.”
“By activating specific brain regions, and analysing brain
activity in response to these physiotherapy strategies using the latest digital
technology, our aim in this study is to see a change in patients’ response at
different stages of Parkinson’s disease.”
Parkinson’s is the largest growing neurological disorder in the
world, with one in 37 people at risk of developing the disease in their
lifetime.
Being able to use specific brain regions to pay attention to
different physiotherapy strategies has often been suggested to be the reason
why people with Parkinson’s can overcome their walking problems, but this has never
been tested.
According to Dr Stuart, finally understanding the reasons why
people benefit from these physiotherapy strategies and who benefits most from specific
interventions, will enable healthcare professionals to provide more timely and
efficient treatment for people with Parkinson’s.
“The physiotherapy strategies we currently provide for patients
with Parkinson’s don’t work for everybody,” he said. “It’s a bit trial and
error so we need more targeted and personalised interventions if we’re going to
see a real improvement in walking ability among patients. By developing a
better understanding of why these strategies work, we can also develop more
effective interventions in the future to further improve walking.”
Academics
at Northumbria University are also working on a nationwide project aimed at
getting a better understanding of the role of Parkinson’s Nurses. The
University is running the two-year research project, which is funded by Parkinson’s UK, with Northumbria
Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Click here for more information about the study.
