Effects of freezing of gait on balance in patients with Parkinson’s disease

ABSTRACT

Objectives

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of freezing of gait (FOG) on static and dynamic balance.

Methods

Twenty patients with Parkinson’s disease with and without FOG [PD+FOG (68,6±6,39 years) and PD-FOG group (70,6±4,57 years)] and 10 healthy individuals (68,4±4,92 years) with similar demographic characteristics were included in the study. Balance was compared between the three groups. Balance was evaluated with clinical tests Limits of stability (LoS) and body sway were measured using the E-LINK FP3 Force Plate and the Korebalance Balance Evaluation System, which measure the balance in static and dynamic conditions. Center of pressure (COP) change and average sway velocity were evaluated with the Zebris RehaWalk system.

Results

Total and subscale scores of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale were significantly higher in the PD+FOG group (p<0.05). The balance test results for both groups were similar (p>0.05). The PD+FOG group performed worse on the computerized static balance tests, the COP analysis, and the dynamic balance total score than the other two groups (p<0.05). The PD+FOG group had significantly greater sustained weight deviation than the healthy controls (p<0.05). Patients with Parkinson’s disease had a lower LoS in the posterior direction than healthy controls (p<0.05).

Discussion

FOG affects the dynamic balance more negatively than the static balance. In addition, FOG reduces LoS in the posterior direction and increases body sway in the anterior-posterior direction, which can lead to falls.

Keywords

Center of pressure, Freezing of gait, Limits of stability, Parkinson’s disease, Postural Balance.

KEYWORDS:

• Neurological rehabilitation
• movement disorders
• Parkinson’s disease
• gait
• balance

Clinical trial number

NCT05107531

Süleyman Korkusuz (ORCID-0000-0002-1277-1369)

Büşra Seçkinoğulları (ORCID-0000-0002-8484-3659)

Ayşenur Özcan (ORCID-0000-0002-1401-7140)

Emine Nur Demircan (ORCID-0000-0002-4270-3543)

Gül Yalçın Çakmaklı (ORCID-0000-0001-8545-7939)

Kadriye Armutlu (ORCID-0000-0001-6283-1211)

Ferdi Yavuz (ORCID-0000-0002-6247-2578)

Bülent Elibol (ORCID-0000-0001-5015-0152)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed by the authors regarding the research, writing, or publication of this paper.

Statement of authorship

Author SK, BS, GYÇ, and FY performed data collection; Author SK, BS, and KA performed data interpretation and analysis; author SK, BS, AŞ, END, KA and BE designed the study, carried out conceptualism, analysis, manuscript writing and revised for the approval. All authors have approved the final article.

Written informed consent

Written informed consent was obtained from all individuals.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This study did not receive a specific grant from any governmental, private, or non-profit funding source.