Objective: This systematic review summarizes all published outcomes of Parkinson’s patients treated with Motor Imagery Therapy.

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common causes of disability among older adults [1], and the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease [2]. The progression of degeneration affects several motor functions, including gait, balance [3], and hand function [4], which can lead to fear of movement and bradykinesia, impacting individuals’ daily life activities [5]. Therefore, various physical therapy modalities have been developed to manage these symptoms [6], including motor imagery.

Method: We conducted an electronic search of PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. We screened the retrieved articles and included only randomized clinical trials  examining motor imagery’s effect on Parkinson’s disease. We extracted and reviewed data from the included articles.

Results: We identified four studies  88 patients. The severity of the disease was assessed using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) in two studies and the Hoehn and Yahr scale in another two studies. Our results revealed that different motor outcomes showed significant improvements in the motor imagery group in relation to the control group. Specific gait parameters such as step length (p < 0.0025), walking velocity (p < 0.0001), Functional gait assessment (p < 0.0160), and excursions in the sagittal plane of the ankle, knee, and hip (p < 0.05) showed more significant improvements after motor imagery application. Also, Balance, sensory orientation, mental imagery abilities, and dynamic gait were better in the experimental group   P= (0.02, 0.04, 0.01, 0.03) respectively. motor cognitive functions, Hand Functions, and spatial cognitive functions did not show a significant difference between the two groups. Moreover, none of the included studies reported any adverse effects.

Conclusion: Motor imagery intervention is considered a safe intervention and can be used to improve motor and gait parameters in Parkinson’s disease rehabilitation. However, there is not enough evidence supporting its use in clinical practice due to the low number of high-quality randomized clinical trials available. Furthermore, more high-quality randomized clinical trials with large sample sizes should be carried out to validate its effectiveness.

References: 1.    Playfer JR. Parkinson’s disease. Postgrad Med J. 1997 May;73(859):257–64.
2.    Reich SG, Savitt JM. Parkinson’s Disease. Med Clin North Am. 2019 Mar;103(2):337–50.
3.    Bezerra PT, Santiago LM, Silva IA, Souza AA, Pegado CL, Damascena CM, et al. Action observation and motor imagery have no effect on balance and freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease: a randomized controlled trial. Eur J Phys Rehabil Med. 2022 Oct;58(5):715–22.
4.    Lukos JR, Poizner H, Sage J. Hand function in parkinson’s disease. In: Duruöz MT, editor. Hand function: A practical guide to assessment. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2019. p. 163–79.
5.    Hayes MT. Parkinson’s disease and parkinsonism. Am J Med. 2019 Jul;132(7):802–7.
6.    Osborne JA, Botkin R, Colon-Semenza C, DeAngelis TR, Gallardo OG, Kosakowski H, et al. Physical therapist management of parkinson disease: A clinical practice guideline from the american physical therapy association. Phys Ther. 2022 Apr 1;102(4).
7.    Mulder T. Motor imagery and action observation: cognitive tools for rehabilitation. J Neural Transm. 2007 Jun 20;114(10):1265–78.

« Back to 2023 International Congress

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-effects-of-motor-imagery-therapy-in-the-rehabilitation-of-patients-with-parkinsons-disease-a-systematic-review/