The Effect of Split-belt Treadmill Training on Gait in Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson Disease, Freezing of Gait
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Parkinson Disease focused on measuring Parkinson Disease, Freezing of Gait, Rehabilitation, Gait adaptation, Split-belt, Treadmill training
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Clinical diagnosis of PD according to the recent criteria of the Movement Disorders Society made by a neurologist
- Participants should be able to walk 5 minutes at a stretch without a walking aid
- Hoehn & Yahr stage II or III in the ON state of medication
- Mini Mental State Examination score of 24 or above
- Participants should have a steady medication schedule at the start of the study (no change in the past month).
- To be included as a freezer participant a score of at least 1 or higher should be recorded with the New Freezing of Gait Questionnaire.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Current enrollment in another clinical study which may interfere with the conduction of this study.
- Orthopedic injuries or other musculoskeletal problems, which could possibly effect balance and/or gait.
- Unable or unwilling to commit to 4 weeks of training, 3 times a week
- Participation in walking training in the month prior to the start of the study
- Other neurological impairments (except PD)
- Cardiovascular exercise risk factors diagnosed by a doctor
Sites / Locations
- KU Leuven
- University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH), Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Experimental
Active Comparator
SBT
TBT
The SBT group will receive a 4-week split-belt treadmill training program consisting of 3 training sessions every week. The training will have a progression of training duration over the four weeks. Participants will start at a total training duration of 30 minutes and this will be increased with 5 minutes every week. The maximal length will be 45 minutes of training. One session including breaks will take approximately 1 hour.
The TBT group will receive a 4-week tied-belt treadmill training program consisting of 3 training sessions every week. The training will have a progression of training duration over the four weeks. Participants will start at a total training duration of 30 minutes and this will be increased with 5 minutes every week. The maximal length will be 45 minutes of training. One session including breaks will take approximately 1 hour.