Adapted physical activity eases Parkinson’s motor symptoms
Study shows adapted program has immediate effect on symptom severity
An adapted physical activity program may help ease motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, a study showed.
Although patients’ motor symptoms eased immediately after the three-month program, there didn’t appear to be a long-term effect on motor symptom severity, emphasizing a need for longer programs and/or further resources to help patients more effectively exercise on their own, the study’s authors said.
The study, “Effect of an adapted physical activity program in Parkinson’s disease: A randomized controlled study (APA-Park),” was published in Parkinsonism and Related Disorders.
A growing body of research suggests that exercise can ease motor symptoms, yet Parkinson’s patients often struggle with exercising regularly. Physical limitations brought on by the disease can make some types of exercise difficult or impossible, and nonmotor symptoms like depression can interfere with motivation.
Adapted physical activity, or APA, is a type of exercise program done under the supervision of a professional trainer who helps to tailor an exercise regimen to the person’s abilities, offering adjustments where needed. While APA might be more useful than unstructured exercise for Parkinson’s patients, there is limited data on its use in this population.
Structured program vs free activity
Scientists in France conducted a study (NCT02816619) to explore the effects of APA in Parkinson’s, enrolling 44 participants with the condition. Half of them underwent a three-month APA program with one-hour sessions twice weekly, and the other half were instructed to freely practice physical activity.
The study aimed to evaluate the immediate and long-term effects of a three-month APA program combining moderate-intensity endurance training, muscle strengthening, and stretching on motor symptoms, body composition, heart and lung (cardiorespiratory) function and metabolic profiles in Parkinson’s patients.
Standardized assessments after three months showed that motor symptoms tended to ease slightly in patients who underwent APA, as shown by a statistically significant decrease in Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) part 3 scores, which evaluate motor function.
By contrast, patients who freely exercised experienced a worsening of motor symptoms. This distinction was consistent even after accounting for factors like treatments, disease duration, and the severity of motor symptoms before the study.
“In this randomized controlled study, we demonstrated that a 3-month APA program combining moderate-intensity endurance training, muscle reinforcement, and stretching led to a reduction of motor symptom severity immediately after the intervention … while in the same period of time [Parkinson’s] patients assigned to free practice of physical activity presented an increase of motor severity,” the researchers wrote.
At a follow-up six months after the APA program ended, however, motor symptom scores were similar for patients who’d done the program and for patients who’d exercised on their own.
“From our results, there is an immediate effect on [Parkinson’s] symptoms after the APA program, but no long-term benefit,” the researchers wrote. That suggests “the necessity to either pursue the program in the long run, which raises feasibility issues, or to offer after the initial program some means to help the patient pursue [physical activity] by himself over years, using remote support for example,” they wrote.
Measures of body composition, metabolic profile, and cardiorespiratory function showed no differences between the APA group and the free-exercising group at any point.
The researchers noted that the study was limited by its small size, adding that additional research is needed to more fully assess the potential benefits and limitations of APA for Parkinson’s patients.
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