Mobility in Daily Life and Falls in Parkinson's Disease: Potential for Rehabilitation

Description

The goal of this intervention is to explore the effectiveness of a Turning Intervention (TURN-IT) to improve quality of turning in participants with Parkinson's Disease (PD). An unique exercise program has been developed - TURN-IT - in which participants practice exercises that focus on physiological constraints that impair turning ability, such as axial rigidity, narrow base of support, bradykinesia, and inflexible set-shifting. The 60 participants with PD and a history of falls in the previous 12 months, will be randomized into a 6-week, 3x/week, one-on-one TURN-IT group or No-Intervention Control group. This pilot intervention study will determine the number of subjects needed for a future clinical trial and will determine the sensitivity to change with rehabilitation our daily-life turning quality measures (such as, mean and variability of number of steps to turn, turn amplitude, turn velocity). The investigators predict that the TURN-IT program will improve turning in daily life enough to justify a larger clinical trial.

Conditions

Parkinson Disease

Study Overview

Study Details

Study overview

The goal of this intervention is to explore the effectiveness of a Turning Intervention (TURN-IT) to improve quality of turning in participants with Parkinson's Disease (PD). An unique exercise program has been developed - TURN-IT - in which participants practice exercises that focus on physiological constraints that impair turning ability, such as axial rigidity, narrow base of support, bradykinesia, and inflexible set-shifting. The 60 participants with PD and a history of falls in the previous 12 months, will be randomized into a 6-week, 3x/week, one-on-one TURN-IT group or No-Intervention Control group. This pilot intervention study will determine the number of subjects needed for a future clinical trial and will determine the sensitivity to change with rehabilitation our daily-life turning quality measures (such as, mean and variability of number of steps to turn, turn amplitude, turn velocity). The investigators predict that the TURN-IT program will improve turning in daily life enough to justify a larger clinical trial.

Mobility in Daily Life and Falls in Parkinson's Disease: Potential for Rehabilitation

Mobility in Daily Life and Falls in Parkinson's Disease: Potential for Rehabilitation

Condition
Parkinson Disease
Intervention / Treatment

-

Contacts and Locations

Portland

Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, United States, 97239

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.

Eligibility Criteria

  • 1. Diagnosis of idiopathic PD from movement disorders neurologist with the United Kingdom Brain Bank criteria of bradykinesia with 1 or more of the following - rest tremor, rigidity, and balance problems not from visual, vestibular, cerebellar or proprioceptive conditions
  • 2. Responsive to levodopa
  • 3. Hoehn \& Yahr stages II-IV
  • 4. Age range 55-85 years old
  • 5. self-report of one or more falls in past 12 months
  • 6. willing and able to attend exercise intervention sessions at OHSU campus, and also refrain from changes in anti-parkinson medications and exercise levels.
  • 1. Major musculoskeletal or neurological disorders, structural brain disease, epilepsy, acute illness or health history, other than PD
  • 2. no medical condition that precludes exercise
  • 3. MoCA ≤ 21 or inability to follow directions
  • 4. excessive use of alcohol or recreational drugs
  • 5. recent change in medication
  • 6. inability to stand and walk for 2 minutes without an assistive device

Ages Eligible for Study

55 Years to 85 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Collaborators and Investigators

Oregon Health and Science University,

Fay Horak, PhD, PT, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, Oregon Health and Science University

Study Record Dates

2026-06-01