Effects of coordination and manipulation therapy for patients with Parkinson disease

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the effects of a new exercise training regimen, i.e. coordination and manipulation therapy (CMT), on motor, balance, and cardiac functions in patients with Parkinson disease (PD). Materials and methods: We divided 36 PD patients into the CMT (n = 22) and control (n = 14) groups. The patients in the CMT group performed dry-land swimming (imitation of the breaststroke) and paraspinal muscle stretching for 30 min/workday for 1 year. The control subjects did not exercise regularly. The same medication regimen was maintained in both groups during the study. Clinical characteristics, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) scores, Berg balance scale (BBS) scores, mechanical balance measurements, timed up and go (TUG) test, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were compared at 0 (baseline), 6, and 12 months. Biochemical test results were compared at 0 and 12 months. The primary outcome was motor ability. The secondary outcome was cardiac function. Results: In the CMT group, UPDRS scores significantly improved, TUG test time and step number significantly decreased, BBS scores significantly increased, and most mechanical balance measurements significantly improved after 1 year of regular exercise therapy (all p < 0.05). In the control group, UPDRS scores significantly deteriorated, TUG test time and step number significantly increased, BBS scores significantly decreased, and most mechanical balance measurements significantly worsened after 1 year (all P < 0.05). LVEF improved in the CMT group only (P = 0.01). Conclusions: This preliminary study suggests that CMT effectively improved mobility disorder, balance, and cardiac function in PD patients over a 1-year period.

Keywords:

• coordination and manipulation therapy (CMT)
• Parkinson disease (PD)
• effect
• patients

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our thanks to Caiyou Hu (Department of Neurology, Jiangbin Hospital, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region) for his assistance with this project. We would also like to thank Shengli An (Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University) for assistance with the statistical analyses.

Declaration of Interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The study was supported by Guangxi Appropriate Technology for Medical and Health Research and Development Projects [grant number S201311-03].