The effects of visual cues from optical stimulation devices on gait disturbance in patients with Parkinson's disease.
Ryota Nishikawa, Hitomi Nishizawa, Kazuhiro Fukushima and 4 others
PMID 36866016WHAT IT FOUND
Wearable light cues sped up steps and made them more regular in Parkinson's patients.
The patient's preferred light setting also walked faster than the disliked one. Stride length and overall speed did not change significantly.
Key findings
01Visual cues shortened stride duration and increased cadence compared to no cues, but did not significantly change stride length or gait speed.
02When patients walked with their preferred light setting, their gait speed was significantly faster than when they used the non-preferred setting.
03There was no significant difference in gait parameters between the two tested light durations (10% vs 50% of the gait cycle).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study did not observe any freezing of gait episodes in the participants, so it cannot tell us if these cues actually help with freezing. The experiment was conducted in a controlled hallway setting with wired equipment, so it does not prove the device works in daily life or at home. Cognitive function was not assessed, so we do not know if cognitive status influenced which light setting patients preferred. The sample size was small (24 patients).
Declared interests
The study was supported by the School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Shinshu University. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that these visual cues significantly improved overall walking speed or stride length compared to no cues, as those differences were not statistically significant. The speed benefit was only seen when comparing a patient's preferred cue setting to their disliked one.