Comparison Of Combined Effects Of Physical And Mental Practice With Physical Practice Alone On Functional Independence In Parkinson (PD) Patients

ABSTRACT

Objectives: To compare the effects of combined mental and physical practice with physical practice alone on functional independence in Parkinson disease patients. Study design: Randomized control trial. Setting: Tertiary health care center Participants: 30 subjects were recruited with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, 60-75 years of age, who were between 1.5 -3 on the Hoehn & Yahr classification & had a score of 24 on the modified Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). They were randomly assigned into two groups i.e. the experimental group (N=15) which received physical practice along with mental imagery & the control group (N=15) which received physical practice alone. Outcome measures: Performance time of functional movement tasks such as supine to standing position & then standing to supine position were measured. In addition to this the Timed Up& Go (TUG) test and the mental, motor & ADL subsets of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) & Stroop test for cognitive assessment were administered. Results: There was a significant difference in the performance time of supine to standing & standing to supine position (p 0.00), TUG test (p 0.003) & Stroop test errors (p 0.004). However there was no significant difference in the UPDRS and stroop test time scores. Conclusion: This study shows that the experimental group performed better during the functional tasks and cognitive Stroop test, however there was no significant improvement in UPDRS scores.