Objective: To examine the effects of participation in a 10-week Community-Based Group Exercise Class, followed by an 8-week break on the functional abilities of individuals with Parkinson’s Disease (PD).

Background: Exercise has long been shown to provide neurological benefits for people with PD¹, and community-based exercise programs are becoming more prevalent and recommended for this population.² Community-based exercise programs have shown improvements in motor and nonmotor symptoms, but little research has been done on the long-term changes occurring in people with PD.

Method: Twenty-three community members with PD participated in a 50-minute multi-modal high-intensity exercise program twice per week for 10 weeks and performed pre-and post-program testing and questioning. An 8-week gap between exercise series followed with repetition of testing to start the next semester.

Results: Participants showed statistically significant improvements with the semester pre and post-program testing in gait speed (p=.006), 3-meter backward walk pace (p=0.013), TUG (p=0.031), TUG-Cog (p=0.026), and the difference between TUG-Cog and TUG (p=0.048). These differences in means from the beginning to end of the 10-week session met or nearly met MCID values for all measures. Greater than 70% of participants reported maintenance or improvement regarding the subjective impact of their PD in all areas surveyed except concentration (62%), social interactions (62%), and falls (62%). When examining changes over the 8-week break, a small, insignificant decline in performance was noted within most individuals. When comparing the start of one semester to the start of the next, TUG-Cog (p=0.059) and the difference between TUG-Cog and TUG (p=0.06) showed a strong trend toward significance. More than 33% of participants showed improvement above the MCID for gait speed, 30 second-sit-to-stand, and 3-Meter Backward Walk from one semester to the next.

Conclusion: People with PD participating in a community exercise program demonstrated statistically and clinically significant improvements in functional mobility and subjective impact of PD in 10 weeks. During an 8-week break, participants either maintained or showed slight regression in outcomes but maintained some improvement from their baseline. Given the progressive nature of PD, this shows success in improving functional abilities or reducing decline in this population.

Table of Change in Outcomes

Changes in Semester and from Baseline to Follow-Up

Changes in Subjective Impact

References: (1)El Hayek M, Lobo Jofili Lopes JLM, LeLaurin JH, et al. Type, Timing, Frequency, and Durability of Outcome of Physical Therapy for Parkinson Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(7):e2324860. Published 2023 Jul 3. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.24860
(2)Jacqueline A Osborne, PT, DPT and others, Physical Therapist Management of Parkinson Disease: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the American Physical Therapy Association, Physical Therapy, Volume 102, Issue 4, April 2022, pzab302, https://doi.org/10.1093/ptj/pzab302
(3)Kocer B, Soke F, Ataoglu NEE, et al. The reliability and validity of the 3-m backward walk test in people with Parkinson’s disease [published online ahead of print, 2023 May 9]. Ir J Med Sci. 2023;10.1007/s11845-023-03384-9. doi:10.1007/s11845-023-03384-9
(4)O’Callaghan A, Harvey M, Houghton D, et al. Comparing the influence of exercise intensity on brain-derived neurotrophic factor serum levels in people with Parkinson’s disease: a pilot study. Aging clinical and experimental research.2020;32(9):1731-1738. doi:10.1007/s40520-019-01353-w
(5)Rodríguez MÁ, Albillos-Almaraz L, López-Aguado I, Crespo I, Del Valle M, Olmedillas H. Vigorous Aerobic Exercise in the Management of Parkinson Disease: A Systematic Review. PM R. 2021;13(8):890-900. doi:10.1002/pmrj.12500

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