Comparing the fear of falling and quality of life outcomes following a functional movement protocol among the experimental and control idiopathic Parkinson cases

Considering progressive increase in the senile population and increasing number of Parkinson patients (PP) and their movement disorders, researchers are searching for some non-medicinal strategies (i.e. corrective exercises) to promote the efficiency of physical performance and quality of life (QOL) among PP. The aim of this study was to assess the fear of falling (FOF) and QOL following a functional movement protocol in PP.
This clinical trial was done on PP using a purposeful available sampling. After taking an informed consent, participants (no=44) referring to the neurology clinics of Kashan (2014) were divided into three groups. A ten-week training protocol was performed for Experimental groups (with or without foam pad) in stable and unstable surfaces. During pre-/post-test followed by one-month follow-up, the FOF and the QOL variables were measured and analyzed using repeated-measure ANOVA.
A significant difference was found for FOF and QOL parameters in Foam pad group compared to Non-foam pad group. So as the mean for FOF in Experimental group with and without Foam pad was changed from 42.00±6.44 to 26.87±6.41 and from 43.21±5.61 to 40.07±3.66, respectively. In addition, the mean for QOL parameters in experimental group with and without Foam pad was changed from 114.20±15.53 to 154.33±12.03 and from 115.36±19.86 to 141.36±13.44, respectively.
Under the influence of corrective exercises on unstable surfaces, the PP can benefit a better functional performance and a decreased FOF and progress towards some optimal stable controlling patterns for preventing the falling.