Physical Therapy Do Not Improve Activities of Daily Living in Parkinson's Disease

The quality of life and motor abilities are not improved by physical therapy in people with Parkinson's disease(PD), revealed a new study.

A study published in the Journal JAMA was led by Carl E. Clarke, of the School of Clinical and Experimental Medicine at the College of Medical and Dental Sciences, at the University of Birmingham, in Birmingham, England. They analyzed the clinical effectiveness of individualized physiotherapy and occupational therapy in PD patients.

‘Physical and occupational therapy do not improve the quality of life or the ability to perform activities of daily living for patients with mild to moderate Parkinson�s disease. ’

Researchers recruited 762 patients where half of them received physical therapy, while other received occupational therapy. The outcomes were assessed before trial and then 3, 9, and 15 months after randomization.

The primary outcome measure was patient scores on the Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living (NEADL) Scale 3 months following randomization, while secondary outcome was quality of life. They found no improvement in the motor abilities or the quality of life among the two groups.

Researchers concluded that future studies should explore the development of structured and intensive PT programs for patients at different stages of PD.

Source: Medindia