The Effects of Kinematic Dual Task and Arm's Position on Temporal Va-riables of Walking in Patients with Parkinso's Disease

Bradykinesia, poor balance, tremor and abnormal walking may result in high risk of falling in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). It is previously shown that the kinematical abnormalities during walking is related to freezing of the gait in PD. The objectives of this study were to study the effects of kinematic dual task and arms’ position on temporal variables of walking in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Ten female subjects with level II and III idiopathic Parkinson’s disease were recruited from local clinics as experimental group. Also a group of 14 healthy subjects with similar age, height and body mass index were served as control group. Using a H-Rez Motion Analysis System with three high speed Falcon cameras (240 HZ) the temporal variables of the subjects’ gait in a) normal walking, b) walking with holding a 2.5 kg mass and c) walking with arms crossed the chest were recorded. Repeated Measure Analysis of Variance (α < 0.05) was used to analyze the data.

The results showed that the stride length and walking speed in normal and PD were 121.9 ± 4.4 cm and 107.7 ± 5.3 cm/s and 79.7 ± 6.1 cm and 72.7 ± 6.9 cm/s respectively. The stride length in walking speed in PD were about 34% and 67% smaller than in normal subjects. Walking while carrying weight resulted in stride length and walking speed of 83.1 ± 5.8 cm and 72.7 ± 5.1 cm/s in PD; implying about 5% improvement on the stride length.

PD is associated with slower walking and shorter stride length as well as longer double stance phase. Carrying weight during walking improved the stride length in PD. Application of this dual task is recommended for rehabilitation program in PD.