Exercise and Parkinson Disease: Comparing Tango, Treadmill, and Stretching.
Kerri S Rawson, Marie E McNeely, Ryan P Duncan and 3 others
PMID 30531383WHAT IT FOUND
Treadmill walking improved forward and backward gait speed more than stretching or tango, but none of the changes across the three groups were large enough to be clinically meaningful for people with Parkinson disease.
Key findings
01The treadmill group showed a trend towards improved forward walking velocity compared to the stretching group, which was maintained through follow-up.
02Both the treadmill and stretching groups significantly improved backward walking velocity between baseline and post-test, with the treadmill group maintaining this gain at follow-up.
03The stretching group was the only one to show a statistically significant improvement in motor severity scores between baseline and post-test, though this did not persist.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study used serial assignment rather than randomization to accommodate instructor availability, which may introduce selection bias. Assessments were conducted in the OFF medication state, which may not reflect the patient's typical functional status during daily activities. A large number of participants (22) withdrew or had incomplete data, reducing the final analyzed sample. The tango instructors lacked formal training in tango adapted for Parkinson disease, which may have affected the efficacy of that intervention. The authors state that the observed improvements, while statistically significant in some secondary analyses, were not of a magnitude considered clinically meaningful.
Declared interests
The study was supported by NIH grants. No other conflicts of interest were declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the statistically significant improvements in backward gait or motor severity as evidence that one exercise modality is superior for clinical function. The authors explicitly state that none of the changes were large enough to be clinically meaningful.