Evaluation Of A Once Weekly Exercise Class For Patients With Parkinson’s Disease In A Sub-Acute Rehabilitation Setting

Abstract Background Patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) admitted to a sub-acute rehabilitation setting presented with motor symptoms such as bradykinesia, tremor, balance and gait impairments and reduced awareness of the benefits of exercise and physiotherapy on their PD symptoms. An exercise class based on the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) BIG principles was implemented to evaluate the effectiveness of a single physiotherapy led exercise class for patients presenting with motor symptoms associated with PD. Methods A Parkinson's exercise group class based on LSVT principles of BIG movements was designed, consisting of a 30-minute physiotherapist led class including warm up, seated and standing based exercises and cool down. The five times sit to stand (5TSTS) outcome measure was evaluated pre and post each intervention to determine immediate functional impact on each participant. A retrospective review of data collected was conducted on all participants who attended each exercise class. Results A total of 20 participants (60% male, 40% female) took part in the exercise class across a 6-month period. The average age of the participants was 79.8 years (SD 7.65 years) and a median clinical frailty scale score of 5. The mean 5TSTS score pre-intervention was 24.42 seconds (SD 20.2 sec). The mean 5TSTS score post intervention was 20.81 seconds (SD 16.57sec) with a mean change between pre and post intervention 5TSTS of 3.61 seconds (SD 9.66 sec) Conclusion Patients admitted with PD presented with coexisting frailty. The data collected demonstrated an immediate improvement in function after a single group exercise intervention. Further evaluation is required to determine longer term effects of this exercise intervention on patients with PD and coexisting frailty.