Objective: This study aimed to examine the long-term effects of a periodic intensive rehabilitation program incorporating tele-tools on the progression of motor symptoms in people with Parkinson’s disease (PwP).

Background: Intensive rehabilitation and continuous training support have been shown to be effective in slowing the progression of motor symptoms in PwP. However, intensive rehabilitation often requires hospitalization or frequent outpatient visits, creating barriers to implementation. To overcome these barriers, we developed and implemented a periodic intensive rehabilitation program incorporating tele-tools.

Method: Twelve PwP with Hoehn & Yahr stage 1-2 participated in the study. The program consisted of weekly personal training sessions conducted either in person or online via a web conferencing tool, along with monitored self-training at least four days per week. The program was implemented once a year .The first session: 12 weeks, second session: 6 weeks(Fig.1). For self-training monitoring, participants recorded their training sessions using a smartphone and shared the videos via a chat tool to receive feedback on movement accuracy, thereby improving training quality. Assessments included the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) Part 2-3, the Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39), gait ability, and levodopa equivalent dose. Statistical analysis was performed using the Friedman test with Bonferroni correction for post-hoc comparisons.

Results: Significant improvements were observed in all outcome measures before and after each program session. Comparisons between the beginning of the first session and the end of the second session showed significant improvements in MDS-UPDRS Part 3, PDQ-39, and gait ability (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: The periodic intensive rehabilitation program incorporating tele-tools effectively slowed the progression of motor symptoms in PwP over one year. Previous studies have also confirmed that annual intensive rehabilitation combined with continuous training helps prevent symptom progression and maintain function. This study also demonstrated the potential for functional maintenance through the annual implementation of an intensive rehabilitation program and continuous support. Furthermore, the combination of in-person and remote training allows for flexible program implementation tailored to individual environments.

Figure.1

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/long-term-effects-of-a-periodic-intensive-rehabilitation-program-in-people-with-parkinsons-disease/