Effects of Group Postural Rehabilitation in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease and Camptocormia: Preliminary Data from an Observational Pilot Study

Authors:
Open Access
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is frequently associated with postural instability, including camptocormia, an involuntary anterior flexion of the thoracolumbar spine. This retrospective observational pilot study evaluated the effects of a postural group rehabilitation protocol on the stabilometric parameters, depressive symptoms, and quality of life in PD patients with camptocormia, and whether gains were maintained during a subsequent two-month period after completion of supervised group rehabilitation, during which patients were provided with a general home-based exercise program. Materials and Methods: Forty patients with idiopathic PD (Hoehn and Yahr II–III) were assessed at baseline (T0), after two months of twice-weekly rehabilitation (T1). At T2, only stabilometric follow-up was performed after two months without group exercise for 38 patients. Outcomes included SPPB, Tinetti, Berg Balance Scale, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, PDQ-39, occiput-to-wall distance and stabilometric analysis. Results: At T1, Hamilton scores decreased from 11.44 ± 4.59 to 3.33 ± 3.04 and PDQ-39 from 82.22 ± 22.36 to 69.72 ± 16.54 (both p < 0.001). Occiput-to-wall distance improved significantly in three of six positions. The EO/EC Perimeter Ratio decreased significantly from T0 to T1 (p = 0.016). Between T1 and T2, EO Perimeter continued improving (p = 0.010), whereas the Perimeter Ratio worsened (p = 0.046), and EC Ellipse area, though non-significant, increased rather than decreased. Conclusions: A two-month protocol was followed by apparent improvements in depression, quality of life, postural alignment, and selected stabilometric parameters. After discontinuation, some parameters appeared to improve while others seemed to worsen, suggesting these effects may not be sustained with uniformity. These preliminary findings should be confirmed with an expanded sample size in larger studies.

This publication has 45 references indexed in Scilit: