Can simple home-based exercises reduce the fear of falling in Parkinsonian disorders?

Abstract BACKGROUND: Home-based exercise programs offer potentially enhanced compliance in people with parkinsonism (PwP). OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a simple home-based gait and balance training program on fear of falling (FoF). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-one PwP (45 males, 26 females; mean age, 65 years; mean disease duration, 81 months) participated in 24 sessions of 45-min home-based exercises over 8 weeks. The intervention groups (exercise + levodopa and exercise + amantadine) were compared with a control group (no exercise + levodopa) using the Fall Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I). All the groups, including the amantadine group, were on levodopa. RESULTS: The intervention groups showed significant reductions in FES-I scores (amantadine: pre-55.35 to post-39.94; levodopa: pre-55.33 to post-38.51), whereas the control group worsened slightly (pre-36.80 to post-41.00). Females in the levodopa group demonstrated greater improvements in balance. Age slightly reduced the effectiveness of the intervention in the levodopa and no exercise groups but enhanced outcomes in the amantadine group. CONCLUSION: Simple home-based exercises are beneficial for reducing FoF and may increase therapy compliance.