Accelerometer based analysis of gait initiation failure in advanced juvenile parkinsonism: a single subject study.
Mitsuaki Ishii, Hideaki Mashimo
PMID 27942160WHAT IT FOUND
In one woman with advanced juvenile parkinsonism, a sudden verbal command produced freezing patterns, while planned, step-by-step initiation produced larger forward acceleration and lower step frequency.
This is one person, not a pattern.
Key findings
01In sudden gait initiation, peak anterior accelerations were consistently smaller than in planned gait initiation, ranging 0.20 to 0.25 G for planned and 0.06 to 0.10 G for sudden.
02Mean frequency was consistently higher in sudden gait initiation than in planned gait initiation, with planned sessions at 1.46 Hz and sudden sessions at 2.93 Hz or 1.95 Hz.
03Sudden gait initiation showed trembling-type freezing in six sessions and akinetic-type complete block in two sessions.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
This is a single-subject case report, so it describes one woman and cannot show what will happen in other people. The study compared two gait initiation conditions in one person, not a treatment trial. Testing was done only in the on medication state. During the study, severe freezing became infrequent, about once a week. The authors state that a testing environment may not fully reproduce start hesitation experienced in daily living.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that a sudden verbal go command is a treatment for freezing. It was a test condition in one patient and produced freezing patterns. The study did not show that planned initiation prevents freezing in other people.