Beyond en-bloc turning: dynamics of head-pelvis coordination in 360° turns in people with Parkinson's.
Phaedra Leveridge, Yuri Russo, Genevieve K R Williams and 4 others
PMID 42163269WHAT IT FOUND
People with Parkinson's and freezing of gait did not move their head and pelvis more together during 360° turns.
They took more steps, and head-pelvis movement varied more, but that difference disappeared when disease severity and balance were considered.
Key findings
01Head-pelvis angular difference did not differ between people with Parkinson's with freezing, people with Parkinson's without freezing, and healthy controls.
02People with Parkinson's and freezing took more steps per turn than the other groups, and this remained after accounting for disease severity and balance.
03Coordination variability was higher in the freezing group than in the non-freezing Parkinson's group and controls, but this difference disappeared after accounting for disease severity or balance.
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
People with Parkinson's were only tested ON medication, so results may not apply to people tested OFF medication. Freezing of gait group assignment was based on self-report on the New Freezing of Gait Questionnaire, not on formally recorded definite freezing during the study visit. Turns with freezing events were excluded to allow comparison, so the study did not describe head-pelvis coordination during an actual freezing episode. The analysed sample was small: 15 people with Parkinson's and freezing, 14 people with Parkinson's without freezing, and 17 controls. The Parkinson's groups differed in disease severity and balance, and several coordination differences disappeared after accounting for these factors. Strides were defined from contralateral heel strike, so movement before the first full stride and after the last full stride was not analysed.
Declared interests
Funding was provided by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Exeter Biomedical Research Centre and Parkinson's UK. The supplied text does not state author conflict declarations.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that people with Parkinson's and freezing of gait turn more en-bloc because of freezing. The head-pelvis angular difference did not differ between groups, and the higher coordination variability in the freezing group disappeared after accounting for disease severity and balance.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →