Effects of motor and cognitive complex training on obstacle walking and brain activity in people with Parkinson's disease: a randomized controlled trial.
Pei-Ling Wong, Chen-Wei Hung, Yea-Ru Yang and 4 others
PMID 38743389WHAT IT FOUND
Cognitive-motor training improved obstacle walking speed and stride length in people with Parkinson's, while complex walking training did not.
The cognitive-motor group also showed increased brain activity in the supplementary motor area, suggesting better motor planning during challenging walks.
Key findings
01Only the cognitive-motor training group showed significant improvements in obstacle walking speed and stride length compared to the control group.
02The cognitive-motor group demonstrated significantly greater increase in supplementary motor area activation compared to both the complex walking and control groups.
03Complex walking training improved visuospatial ability but failed to improve obstacle walking performance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study only measured outcomes immediately after training, so it is unknown if the benefits last. The control group was passive, making it difficult to separate the effects of specific training components from general activity. Participants could not be blinded to their group assignment, which may have influenced their effort or reporting. The findings apply only to people with mild to moderate Parkinson's who can already complete obstacle walking assessments.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The work was funded by grants from the National Science and Technology Council and the National Health Research Institutes.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that adding cognitive challenges to walking automatically improves gait. The complex walking training, which added cognitive load to steering, did not improve obstacle walking performance, whereas the cognitive-motor training that paired cognitive tasks with specific lower-limb exercises did.