Home-based prescribed exercise improves balance-related activities and gait speed in people with Parkinson 's disease , and these improvements are similar to improvements with equivalent centre-based exercise .
QUESTIONS In people with Parkinson 's disease , does home-based prescribed exercise improve balance-related activities and quality of life compared with no intervention ?
Are the effects of home-based exercise similar to those of equivalent centre-based exercise ?
A Randomized Controlled Trial to Reduce Falls in People With Parkinson’s Disease
Background . Falls are common and disabling in people with Parkinson ’s disease ( PD ) . There is a need to quantify the effects of movement rehabilitation on falls in PD . Objective . To evaluate 2 physical therapy interventions in reducing falls in PD . Methods . We r and omized 210 people with PD to 3 groups :  progressive resistance strength training coupled with falls prevention education , movement strategy training combined with falls prevention education , and life-skills information ( control ) . All received 8 weeks of out-patient therapy once per week and a structured home program . The primary end point was the falls rate , recorded prospect ively over a 12 month period , starting from the completion of the intervention . Secondary outcomes were walking speed , disability , and quality of life . Results . A total of 1547 falls were reported for the trial . The falls rate was higher in the control group compared with the groups that received strength training or strategy training . There were 193 falls for the progressive resistance strength training group , 441 for the movement strategy group and 913 for the control group . The strength training group had 84.9 % fewer falls than controls ( incidence rate ratio [ IRR ] = 0.151 , 95 % CI 0.071 - 0.322 , P < .001 ) . The movement strategy training group had 61.5 % fewer falls than controls ( IRR = 0.385 , 95 % CI 0.184 - 0.808 , P = .012 ) . Disability scores improved in the intervention groups following therapy while deteriorating in the control group . Conclusions . Rehabilitation combining falls prevention education with strength training or movement strategy training reduces the rate of falls in people with mild to moderately severe PD and is feasible
Home-based prescribed exercise improves balance-related activities and gait speed in people with Parkinson 's disease , and these improvements are similar to improvements with equivalent centre-based exercise .
QUESTIONS In people with Parkinson 's disease , does home-based prescribed exercise improve balance-related activities and quality of life compared with no intervention ?
Are the effects of home-based exercise similar to those of equivalent centre-based exercise ?