Sensors (Jan 2024)

Effects of Manual Therapy on Parkinson’s Gait: A Systematic Review

  • Arnaud Delafontaine,
  • Thomas Vialleron,
  • Gaëtan Barbier,
  • Arnaud Lardon,
  • Mélodie Barrière,
  • María García-Escudero,
  • Laurent Fabeck,
  • Martin Descarreaux

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/s24020354
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 24, no. 2
p. 354

Abstract

Read online

Manual therapy (MT) is commonly used in rehabilitation to deal with motor impairments in Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, is MT an efficient method to improve gait in PD? To answer the question, a systematic review of clinical controlled trials was conducted. Estimates of effect sizes (reported as standard mean difference (SMD)) with their respective 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were reported for each outcome when sufficient data were available. If data were lacking, p values were reported. The PEDro scale was used for the quality assessment. Three studies were included in the review. MT improved Dynamic Gait Index (SMD = 1.47; 95% CI: 0.62, 2.32; PEDro score: 5/10, moderate level of evidence). MT also improved gait performances in terms of stride length, velocity of arm movements, linear velocities of the shoulder and the hip (p p > 0.05; PEDro score: 6/10, moderate level of evidence). There is no strong level of evidence supporting the beneficial effect of MT to improve gait in PD. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to understand the impact of MT on gait in PD.

Keywords