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 ?
Validating the Berg Balance Scale for patients with Parkinson's disease: a key to rehabilitation evaluation.
OBJECTIVE To assess the criterion-related validity of the  Berg Balance Scale ( BBS ) in subjects with Parkinson 's disease ( PD ) . DESIGN Prospect i ve , correlational analysis between the BBS and accepted measures of PD motor and functional impairment . SETTING The federally funded PD research center , an interdisciplinary center of excellence for people with PD within a Veterans Affairs medical center . PARTICIPANTS Thirty-eight men ( average + /- st and ard deviation , 71.1+/-10.5 y ) with confirmed PD . Their initial diagnosis had been made on average 5.8+/-3.6 years earlier . All could st and or walk unassisted and had mild to moderate disability . Patients who could not ambulate without assistive devices were excluded . INTERVENTIONS Not applicable . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Correlational analyses between the  BBS  and the Unified Parkinson 's Disease Rating Scale ( UPDRS ) motor scale , Modified Hoehn and Yahr Staging ( Hoehn and Yahr ) Scale , and the Modified Schwab and Engl and Capacity for Daily Living Scale ( S&E ADL Scale ) . RESULTS BBS score showed significant correlations with indicators of motor functioning , stage of disease , and daily living capacity . BBS score was inversely associated with the UPDRS motor score ( -.58 , P < .005 ) , Hoehn and Yahr Scale staging ( -.45 , P < .005 ) , and S&E ADL Scale rating ( .55 , P < .005 ) . In all 3 correlations , lower scores on the BBS ( indicating greater balance deficits ) correlated with higher UPDRS scores ( indicating greater motoric or functional impairment ) . CONCLUSIONS Results support the criterion-related validity of the BBS . Its utility in other balance conditions of older adults has been established . Rehabilitation interventions have been shown to improve the balance deficits associated with PD . Early referral and periodic re assessment is vital to achieving and maintaining improvements . Our research results agree with other published research in suggesting that the BBS may be used as a screening tool and ongoing assessment tool for patients with PD
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 ?