Predictors of Gait Improvement in Patients With Parkinson's Disease After Rehabilitation

Patients with Parkinson's disease show a gait disturbance which is considered as one of the most disabling aspect of the disease that strongly impacts on patients' autonomy and quality of life. The mechanism underlying gait impairment is multi-factorial, reflects the global motor impairment of patients with PD and is mainly related to a neurotransmitter deficiency inducing bradykinesia, rigidity, abnormal trunk control and postural instability. For this reason, and considering the impact of social and economic costs, one of the main foci of intervention in patients with PD should be treating gait abnormalities. This need is further reinforced by the knowledge that gait outcomes are correlated with longevity, cognitive decline and adverse events.

Besides the shorten-step gait clinical description of the gait disorder in PD, in the last years, studies using modern 3D motion analysis systems have further detailed the gait pattern in PD disclosing abnormalities in cadence, stance duration, swing duration, double support duration, leg length, step length, velocity, hip, knee and ankle ROMs. Such abnormal gait parameters seem to correlate with the clinical outcomes of UPDRS score, H-Y stage and milliequivalents of levodopa taken. Importantly, gait parameters can either normalize or improve after several rehabilitative treatment strategies including physiotherapy, assistive equipment, sensory cueing, treadmill training, physical activity, home base exercises. However, none of the previous studies specifically investigated which biomechanical factor can be modified after rehabilitation and which clinical characteristic can predict the rehabilitation-induced gait improvement. This would be extremely important to typifying, grouping and selecting patients, optimizing the rehabilitative strategies and cost management.

The aims of the present study were to evaluate in a sample of patients with PD: i) which gait parameters can be modified after a short-term rehabilitation program; ii) which, if any, clinical variable can predict the improvement of the gait function after rehabilitation. At this aim we quantitatively evaluated the gait performance of PD patients by means of a 3-D motion analysis system.