Can Exercise Help People with Parkinson’s Disease?

According to a study published in the journal Neurology, exercise may help people with Parkinson’s disease improve their balance, ability to move around and quality of life, even if it does not reduce their risk of falling. Falling is a common problem for people with Parkinson’s disease, with 60 percent falling each year, and two-thirds of those falling repeatedly. During the study, 231 people with Parkinson’s disease either received their usual care, or took part in an exercise program of 40 to 60 minutes of balance and leg strengthening exercises three times per week for six months. The minimally-supervised exercise program was prescribed and monitored by a physical therapist with participants performing most of the exercises at home. Compared to those in the control group, the number of falls by participants who exercised was reduced in those with less severe Parkinson’s disease, but not in those with the more severe. For those with a less severe disease, a 70-percent reduction in falls was reported in those who exercised compared to those who did not. “These results suggest that minimally supervised exercise programs aimed at reducing falls in people with Parksinson’s should be started early in the disease process,” said the author of the study. To read more about this study, click here.