Aerobic and resistance exercises in Parkinson's disease: a narrative review

Abstract

Parkinson disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by rigidity, tremor, bradykinesia, and postural instability. Although dopaminergic therapies ameliorate many of the parkinsonian symptoms, especially in the early stages of the disease, as the disease progresses, efficacy of pharmacological therapy is diminished. Therefore, treatment of these symptoms continues to be a challenge. As a result, a significant number of rehabilitation strategies have been explored in order to improve the functional capability in this population. In the last two decades an interest in the role of physical exercise in the treatment of PD has emerged. In the current review we examine two modalities of exercise that have shown beneficial effects in improving motor action, balance, and gait in patients: aerobic training and resistance training. We conclude that although there are promising results suggesting the use of both modalities of exercises for the motor improvement in PD patients, the mechanism underlying these improvements are unknown and more studies with more defined designs and outcome measures are needed to further explore the impact of these two modalities of exercise on PD.