Physiotherapy treatment at home for patients with parkinsonian disorders, effects on disability, pain and gait: a cross-sectional study

Parkinsonian disorders lead to functional impairment that requires appropriate physiotherapy treatment. Home physiotherapy is presented as a possible treatment option. To describe the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics in patients with parkinsonian disorders referred to a home rehabilitation service. To know the degree of therapeutic adherence. To evaluate how the applied physiotherapy treatment influences pain, functional recovery and walking ability. The medical records of patients with parkinsonian disorders admitted to a home rehabilitation service were retrospectively analysed. The main outcome measures were disability assessed by the Barthel Index (BI), pain with the Visual Analogue Scale and walking ability through Holden’s functional ambulation categories. 189 medical records were analysed; 54.5% had idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, 38.1% secondary parkinsonism and 7.4% atypical parkinsonism. 24.42% of the men and 29.13% of the women showed improvements of more than 20% in the BI after the physiotherapy treatment. The therapeutic adherence rate was 94.21%. This home-based intervention helps to prevent functional deterioration and reduces the risk of potential complications in the evolution of the disease, such as the risk of falls or those derived from the progressive loss of mobility, with the associated hospital care costs.