Rehabilitation Interventions for Improving Balance in Parkinson's Disease A Narrative Review

IntroductionPostural instability is one of the latest clinical manifestations of Parkinson disease. Because of the limited therapeutic effect of pharmacological therapies, a favorable consideration has now become toward rehabilitation interventions. Thus, this study aimed to synthesize literature evidence to summarize the effects of rehabilitation interventions for improving balance in Parkinson disease.Materials and MethodsWe conducted a narrative review of randomized-controlled clinical trials comparing the effects of interventions, control interventions, and no interventions on balance-related outcomes. A comprehensive search using the MEDLINE database was conducted from January 2000 to September 2021. This review included the following causes of balance-related impairments: inability to control body weight in the base of support, impaired attention and focus on balance, postural deformities, proprioceptive deficiency, sensory-motor integration, and coordination disorders, including visual and auditory-motor coordination.ResultsTwenty randomized-controlled clinical trials were included in the review. Various balance-related outcomes were included. The included studies focused on the effectiveness of different rehabilitation interventions, including physical therapy, virtual reality and telerehabilitation, treadmill training, hydrotherapy, action observation training, balance and cues training interventions, and cognitive rehabilitation.ConclusionsThe results suggest that most of the included rehabilitation interventions have promising therapeutic effects in improving balance in Parkinson disease.

Automated summary

Postural instability is a clinical manifestation of Parkinson disease and rehabilitation interventions have shown promising effects in improving balance. This study aimed to review literature evidence and summarize the effects of rehabilitation interventions on balance-related outcomes in Parkinson disease.