Parkinson’s disease — exercise programmes to reduce the risk of falling
| Location: | Health and Rehabilitation Research Unit and the Medical Statistics Group, Southampton General Hospital in conjunction with the School of Health Professions and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Southampton. |
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| Amount: | £150,250 |
| Status: | Research completed |
| Start Date: | 1st April 2002 |
| Finish Date: | 31st March 2005 |
| Grantholder: | Dr A M Ashburn, PhD, MPhil, MCSP, SRP, Dr C Ballinger PhD, MSc, Dip COT, SROT, Dr R M Pickering, PhD, CStat and Professor David L McLellan, MB, PhD, FRCP. |
| Research worker: | Ms L Fazakerley |
Parkinson’s disease is a condition that usually affects the elderly and is characterised by movement disorders. Frequent falls are common but instability is difficult to treat with medication. For many years, falls were considered to be an unavoidable consequence of increasing age but evidence is now growing that falls among the elderly are preventable.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of personalised exercise programmes (activities of muscle strengthening, balance retraining, movement strategies and stretches) for reducing fall frequency. The outcome should indicate the effectiveness of exercises for people with Parkinson’s disease who are unstable and at risk of falling and injury. This information will be essential in providing evidence to guide physiotherapists in their development of programmes to help these patients.
