Effects of a low-resistance, interval bicycling intervention in Parkinson’s Disease

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have shown that people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) benefit from a variety of exercise modalities with respect to symptom management and function. Among the possible exercise modalities, speedwork has been identified as a promising strategy, with direct implications for the rate and amplitude of nervous system involvement. Considering that previous speed-based exercise for PD has often been equipment, personnel and/or facility dependent, and often time intensive, our purpose was to develop a population-specific exercise program that could be self-administered with equipment that is readily found in fitness centers or perhaps the home. Fourteen individuals with PD (Hoehn-Yahr (H-Y) stage of 3.0 or less) participated in twelve 30-min sessions of low-resistance interval training on a stationary recumbent bicycle. Motor examination section of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), 10-meter walk (10mW), timed-up-and-go (TUG), functional reach, four-square step test (4SST), nine-hole peg test (9HPT) and simple reaction time scores all exhibited significant improvements (p < 0.05). These results add further support to the practice of speedwork for people with PD and outline a population-amenable program with high feasibility.

KEYWORDS:

• Exercise
• motor function
• neurological diseases
• quickness
• symptom management mobility

Acknowledgment

The authors acknowledge Dr. S. Radosavljevic Jaric for clinical evaluation of PD patients.

Funding

This project was supported by the Delaware INBRE program, with a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences - NIGMS (8 P20 GM103446-13) from the National Institutes of Health and financial support from Shake It Off, Inc. (West Chester, PA).

Declaration of Interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This project was supported by the Delaware INBRE program, with a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences - NIGMS (8 P20 GM103446-13) from the National Institutes of Health and financial support from Shake It Off, Inc. (West Chester, PA).