How to Get Started: Identifying the Critical Ingredients to Improve Gait Initiation in Parkinson Disease
Overview
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Parkinson Disease
- Sponsor
- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
- Enrollment
- 10
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Change in First Step Length from Baseline to Conclusion of the first block of training
- Status
- Recruiting
- Last Updated
- 2 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
The purpose of this study is to understand the treatment approach (i.e., targeting gait or targeting the postural adjustment prior to gait) that is most effective at improving gait initiation dynamics in people with Parkinson disease. Ten adults with idiopathic Parkinson disease who self-report difficulty initiating gait will complete the study. The investigators will be using a randomized crossover design, where the participants will participate in two series of training (i.e., postural training and steady-state gait training) with a one-week washout between trainings. Investigators will evaluate the changes induced in gait initiation postural adjustment size, first step length, and first step speed from each intervention. Due to the anticipated limitation of steady-state walking to directly address postural adjustment amplitude, it is hypothesized that training for larger amplitude weight shift during gait initiation will yield improved gait initiation dynamics compared to training with large amplitude movements during steady-state walking.
Investigators
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson disease characterized by asymmetrical onset of at least 2 of 3 cardinal signs (resting tremor, bradykinesia, or rigidity) with no atypical signs or exposure to dopamine-blocking drugs
- •The presence of mild to moderate gait or balance impairment (a rating of 1-2 on MDS Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) item 10 \[gait\] or rating 1-3 on item 12 \[postural stability\]
- •Hoehn \& Yahr stages 1-3 ("on" for those who fluctuate)
- •Self-report of difficulty with freezing of gait (i.e., a rating of 1-4 on question 3 of the Freezing of Gait Questionnaire)
- •All participants must be able to walk \> 5 minutes at greater than or equal to 80% of comfortable gait speed (CGS) on the treadmill and \> 5 minutes over ground without assistance or an assistive device.
Exclusion Criteria
- •Uncontrolled cardiorespiratory/metabolic disease, vestibular dysfunction that may affect gait or balance
- •Parkinson's related or unrelated dementia (i.e. Montreal Cognitive Assessment score \<21)
- •Comfortable over ground walking speed of less than 0.5m/s
- •History of traumatic brain injury
- •self-reported deafness or blindness as this would impair the patient's ability to hear cues or ambulate safely within the lab environment
- •other neurological disorders or orthopedic injury that may affect gait
- •recent orthopedic surgery (in the last 6 months)
- •Participants will also be excluded if they have severe communication impairments, which could impede understanding of the purpose or procedures of the study or an inability to comply with experimental procedures
- •Participants who are currently receiving supervised physical therapy services
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Change in First Step Length from Baseline to Conclusion of the first block of training
Time Frame: Baseline, at the conclusion of the first block of training (approximately 2 weeks)
Length of the first step during gait initiation (i.e., distance from stepping limb heel marker at quiet stance to heel marker of stepping limb at heel strike of the first step forward).
Change in First Step Length from end of first block of training to training 2 pre-test
Time Frame: Conclusion of first training block, just prior to beginning the second training series (1 week)
Length of the first step during gait initiation (i.e., distance from stepping limb heel marker at quiet stance to heel marker of stepping limb at heel strike of the first step forward).
Change in First Step Length from conclusion of second training block to 1 week follow up from second training block
Time Frame: Conclusion of second training block, 1 week follow up from conclusion of second training block (1 week)
Length of the first step during gait initiation (i.e., distance from stepping limb heel marker at quiet stance to heel marker of stepping limb at heel strike of the first step forward).
Change in First Step Length from training block 2 pre-test to conclusion of second block of training
Time Frame: Prior to beginning second block of training, at the conclusion of second block of training (2 weeks)
Length of the first step during gait initiation (i.e., distance from stepping limb heel marker at quiet stance to heel marker of stepping limb at heel strike of the first step forward).
Secondary Outcomes
- Change in Mediolateral Anticipatory Postural Adjustment (APA) Size from end of first block of training to training 2 pre-test(Conclusion of first training block, just prior to beginning the second training series (1 week))
- Change in First Step Speed from Baseline to Conclusion of the first block of training(Baseline, at the conclusion of the first block of training (approximately 2 weeks))
- Change in Mediolateral Anticipatory Postural Adjustment (APA) Size from Baseline to Conclusion of the first block of training(Baseline, at the conclusion of the first block of training (approximately 2 weeks))
- Change in Mediolateral Anticipatory Postural Adjustment (APA) Size from training block 2 pre-test to conclusion of second block of training(Prior to beginning second block of training, at the conclusion of second block of training (2 weeks))
- Change in First Step Speed from training block 2 pre-test to conclusion of second block of training(Prior to beginning second block of training, at the conclusion of second block of training (2 weeks))
- Change in First Step Speed from end of first block of training to training 2 pre-test(Conclusion of first training block, just prior to beginning the second training series (1 week))
- Change in Mediolateral Anticipatory Postural Adjustment (APA) Size from conclusion of second training block to 1 week follow up from second training block(Conclusion of second training block, 1 week follow up from conclusion of second training block (1 week))
- Change in First Step Speed from from conclusion of second training block to 1 week follow up from second training block(Conclusion of second training block, 1 week follow up from conclusion of second training block (1 week))