A Randomized Trial of BUrst vs. Spaced Physical Therapy for Parkinson's Disease: The BUS PT Trial

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with a negative impact on quality of life.1 Many patients with PD will encounter difficulties with balance, posture, transfer, gait and physical capacity due to the motor symptoms of the disease.2 For these symptoms, physical therapy (PT) has been shown to be beneficial and clinically useful for the motor symptoms and thus is routinely prescribed alongside medical management. However, despite increasing evidence of the positive effects of physical therapy for patients with PD, there is no standard approach for organizing physiotherapy in the context of multidisciplinary care. Administration of physical therapy as a "burst" of frequent sessions delivered over 4-6 weeks is the most commonly employed strategy in PD patients and is driven largely by the payer system. Burst therapy has been useful in post-stroke and post traumatic brain injury rehabilitation, however, the investigators of this study hypothesize that this approach will be suboptimal in PD when compared to therapy which is "spaced" over a longer period of time. The purpose of this study is to randomize patients between typical "burst" PT versus "spaced" PT to inform on the optimal frequency of PT for PD patients. Burst PT in this study was defined as 2 PT visits per week for 6 weeks (12 sessions) and spaced PT, as 1 PT visit every other week for 6 months (12 sessions).

30 PD patients were recruited as part of a pilot trial to assess the effectiveness of burst vs. spaced physical therapy (the BUS PT trial). Baseline measures were collected on all patients, including the timed up and go test (TUG), the baseline frequency of utilization of PT, falls, fractures, hospitalizations, the 10 meter walk test (10MWT), the Mini Balance Evaluation Systems Test (miniBESTest), objective gait analysis using Gaitrite, the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ39), the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) "ON" and "OFF" motor scores, the quantitation of the levodopa equivalent daily doses (LEDD), and the Godin Leisure Activity Questionnaire to assess baseline exercise levels.

The investigators hypothesized that "spaced" PT is beneficial for maintenance of physical function in PD. Prior collective evidence suggests that long-term continuous exercise in PD patients is associated with positive outcomes, however a spaced PT approach has not been employed. This study will provide useful data that will directly impact payer systems, reimbursements and access to care for PD patients.