The Effects of the Hopeful Outdoor Parkinson Exercise (HOPE) Program on Improving Balance Performance in Parkinsonian Non-fallers and Single Fallers

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Parkinson's Disease
• Interventions: Behavioral: an 8-week upper limb and hand exercise program; Behavioral: an 8-week blended indoor-outdoor exercise program

• Registration Number: NCT01799681
• Lead Sponsor: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Brief Summary

To determine whether the 8-week Hopeful Outdoor Parkinson's Exercise (HOPE) Program would be effective in improving balance performance, physical functions, gait parameter, balance confidence, health-related quality-of-life, disease-specific motor performance and fall-related outcomes in Parkinson's disease (PD) non-fallers and single fallers.

Detailed Description

Previous studies demonstrated that multi-modal balance training program was effective in improving balance performance in people with PD. However they did not include all the balance domains and outdoor fall-prone activities have been overlooked. We designed a task- and context-specific balance training program based on the framework of the Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest) to target all six balance domains including biomechanical constraints, stability limits and verticality, anticipatory postural adjustments, reactive postural responses, sensori-motor integration and dynamic gait control.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2011-08
• Study First Submitted: 2013-02-21
• Study First Submitted QC: 2013-02-24
• Study First Posted: 2013-02-27
• Primary Completion: 2014-01
• Study Completion: 2014-12
• Status Verified: 2015-03
• Last Update Submitted: 2015-03-18
• Last Update Posted: 2015-03-20

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 84

Inclusion Criteria

• diagnosed with PD by a neurologist (Fahn and Elton, 1987);
• aged 30 to 85 years;
• at modified Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) stage 1.5 to 3 (Hoehn and Yahr ,1967; Goetz et al., 2004);
• able and willing to give written consent for participation in the study;
• living at home in the community;
• able to walk independently for 30 metres with or without an assistive device.

Exclusion Criteria

• any neurological conditions other than PD;
• significant musculoskeletal or cardiopulmonary diseases;
• other disorders that may affect balance or locomotion;
• taken any structured behavioral or exercise programs in the past 3 months
• or they are receiving regular physical rehabilitation at present;
• unstable condition on anti-parkinsonian medications;
• surgical interventions for PD;
• communication or cognitive deficits with mini-mental state examination, (MMSE) <24/30 (Folstein et al., 1975);
• a history of more than two falls in the previous 12 months.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
CONTROL	an 8-week upper limb and hand exercise program	an eight-week training on upper limb stretching and strengthening, hand agility exercise, knot tying and Chinese calligraphy
EXPERIMENTAL	an 8-week blended indoor-outdoor exercise program	a 4-week indoor and 4-week outdoor balance training with stretching, strength and functional training, Balance Dance, Modified Wing Chun, Square stepping exercise, and fall-prone activities practice

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Changes from baseline Balance Systems Evaluation Test total and subsection scores at post 4-week training, post 8-week training, 6- and 12-month follow-ups	12 months after intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Changes from baseline comfortable gait speed at post 4-week training, post 8-week training, 6- and 12-month follow-ups	12 months after intervention
Changes from baseline one-leg stance time at post 4-week training, post 8-week training, 6- and 12-month follow-ups	12 months after intervention
Changes from baseline dual task timed-up-and-go time at post 4-week training, post 8-week training, 6- and 12-month follow-ups	12 months after intervention
Changes from baseline timed-up-and-go time at post 4-week training, post 8-week training, 6- and 12-month follow-ups	12 months after intervention
Changes from baseline five-times-sit-to-stand time at post 4-week training, post 8-week training, 6- and 12-month follow-ups	12 months after intervention
Changes from baseline Parkinson's disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) at post 4-week training, post 8-week training, 6- and 12-month follow-ups	12 months after intervention
Changes from baseline Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale at post 4-week training, post 8-week training, 6- and 12-month follow-ups	12 months after intervention

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; 🇨🇳 Hong Kong SAR, China