Influence of the backward treadmill walking exercise in early Parkinson's disease.

Examination of walking speed and physical fitness

抄録

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a slow and progressive neurodegenerative disorder that exhibits major symptoms of resting tremor, rigidity, akinesia, and posture reactive disturbance along with dopamine deficit. Among subjective symptoms, "Dullness of action" and "It is not easy to walk" are reported in the early stages of the disease, and the so-called stooped posture, decreased step length and walking speed are distinctive features of PD. Although pharmacotherapy is the first choice of treatment for PD, from the standpoint of physical therapy, the objective is to delay the disease progression by positively taking part in sports and ambulatory exercise at an early stage, and constructing an active lifestyle. The purpose of this study was to examine ambulatory ability and physical fitness, and to determine whether the introduction of backward treadmill walking (BTW) exercise had a beneficial influence for early PD patients.