Scaling new heights: a pilot study of the impact of climbing on balance, agility, and dexterity in individuals with Parkinson's disease.
Julie D Ries, Molly Cupka, Andrew A Guccione
PMID 40026680WHAT IT FOUND
After a climbing programme, people with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease improved on balance, mobility, agility and hand dexterity tests.
Grip strength did not change.
Key findings
01The primary balance and mobility score improved by 6.250 points on a 0 to 60 scale.
02Agility and hand dexterity improved, but grip strength did not change significantly.
03There were no adverse events during the study.
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
There was no control group, so improvement cannot be separated from time, practice, or other changes. The completed sample was small and self-selected, and most participants already exercised routinely. Participants had mild to moderate Parkinson's disease and were generally healthy, well educated, and mostly white. Assessors were not blinded to the purpose of the study. The results apply only to novel climbers immediately after a 12-week intervention.
Declared interests
One author is the president and founder of UpENDing Parkinson's, the organization that provided climbing instruction and oversight. The authors report no financial support or grants.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that climbing caused the improvements. The study had no control group, was a small pilot, and assessors were not blinded to its purpose.