Force Platform-Based Intervention Program for Individuals Suffering with Neurodegenerative Diseases like Parkinson
Authors: Ujjan Javed Ahmed , Morani William , Memon Naz , Mohanasundaram Sugumar , Nuhmani Shibili , Singh Bhupesh Kumar 
Published: January 2022

The term “neurodegenerative disease” refers to a set of illnesses that primarily affect brain’s neurons. Substantia nigra (a midbrain dopaminergic nucleus) with lack of hormone called dopamine causes Parkinson’s disease (PD), a neurological disorder. PD leads to tremor, stiffness, impaired posture and balance, and loss of automatic movements. Patient with Parkinson’s often develops a parkinsonian gait that includes a tendency to lean forward, small quick steps as if hurrying forward, and reduced swinging of the arms. They also may have trouble initiating or continuing movement. Gait analysis is often used to diagnose neurodegenerative illnesses and determine their stage. In this study, we attempt to investigate postural balance, and of gait signals for Parkinson’s patients, also, we incorporate interim rehabilitation technique. We included 25 PD patients who had 2.5 to 3 IV score of Hoehn and Yahr scale. A ten-minute walk test has been performed to observe primary and secondary results of dual task interference on gait velocities, and gait time motion vector for right and left legs was observed. Two experimental ground conditions include three conditions of trunk alignment, that is, erect on a regular basis (RE), trunk dorsiflexion 30° (TF1), and trunk dorsiflexion 50° (TF2) were analysed. We identified the walking speed of PD patients was decreased, and trunk dorsiflexion variables influence the gait pattern of Parkinson’s disease patients, where higher 95% CI for TF1 condition was reported. The regular erect trunk showed swing time reduction (0.7%) in PD, so the higher unified PD rating scale (UPDRS) values have significant difference in swing phase time in Parkinson’s patients. The average Hoehn and Yahr scale (H&Y scale) was

4.3
±
2.5

reported in the study participants. In a 10-week follow-up evaluation, the stance duration was shown to be substantial, as was the slower speed gait in the baseline condition. Excessive flexion was discovered in our investigation at the lower limb joints, particularly the knee and ankle. Patients with Parkinson’s disease had similar maximum dorsiflexion and minimum plantarflexion values in stance. The trunk fraction conditions were found significant in patients after rehabilitation training. The best response to rehabilitation treatment was seen when the trunk was rotated. When steps and posture distribution analysis performed, we found that the trunk flexure 1 (

p
<
0.05

), and trunk flexure 2 (

p
<
0.01

) were shown significant values. When GRF threshold characteristics are employed, mean accuracy improves by 52%. Regardless of gait posture, the step regular trunk flexure had significantly higher posture than the corresponding level steps, with a considerable rise in the 50 in trunk dorsiflexion 2 gait relative to the step “L.” This study shows that there was some significant improvement observed in the gait parameters among patients with PD’s which shows positive impact of the intervention. Furthermore, rehabilitation programmes can aid and improve poor gait features in patients with Parkinson’s disease, especially those who are in the early stages of the condition. This gait and balance research provides a rationale for intervention treatments, and their use in clinical practise enhances evidence of therapeutic efficacy. However, prolonged follow-up is needed to determine whether the advantages will remain all across disease’s course, and future studies may recommend a specific rehabilitation technique based on gait analysis results.