Objective: The primary aim is to determine whether allied health interventions reduce freezing of gait (FOG) in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in the short-term and long-term. Secondary aims are to determine whether allied health interventions targeting FOG also improve gait, balance, falls, activities of daily living, and quality of life.
Background: FOG is common in people with PD, with the incidence of FOG increasing with disease duration and severity. Non-pharmacological and non-surgical interventions delivered by allied health professionals show promise in managing FOG, but short- term and long-term efficacy of these interventions remains unclear.
Method: Relevant trials from the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PEDro, OTSeeker and Scopus electronic databases will be identified. The search will include randomised controlled trials or randomised crossover trials of allied health interventions for adults with PD such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, cognitive therapy, behavioural therapy, rehabilitation, exercise and gait training that reported FOG as an outcome measure. Additional outcome measures including gait, balance, falls, activities of daily living and quality of life will also be examined. Meta-analyses structured around the type of interventions will be conducted. If a meta-analysis cannot be completed due to insufficient data or high clinical heterogeneity, a narrative review will be completed. If data is available, subgroup analyses will be performed to examine if disease severity, presence of FOG in participants at baseline, amount of intervention, adherence to intervention and cognition of participants has any influence on outcomes.
Results: The protocol for this review is registered on PROSPERO (PROSPERO 2018 CRD42018116820). Formal screening of the search results against eligibility criteria and data extraction have commenced. Preliminary results will be presented.
Conclusion: Results from this review have the potential to guide clinical practice by identifying effective interventions to address FOG in people with PD.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
L. Goh, N. Allen, J. Song, L. Clemson, C. Canning. Allied health interventions for freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analyses [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2020; 35 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/allied-health-interventions-for-freezing-of-gait-in-parkinsons-disease-a-protocol-for-a-systematic-review-and-meta-analyses/. Accessed November 21, 2024.« Back to MDS Virtual Congress 2020
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/allied-health-interventions-for-freezing-of-gait-in-parkinsons-disease-a-protocol-for-a-systematic-review-and-meta-analyses/