A meta-analysis of exercise intervention and the effect on Parkinson’s Disease symptoms

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is distinguished by tremors at rest, bradykinesia, hypokinesia, and postural instability, resulting in a progressive decline in performance of everyday activities. The non-motor symptoms that occur can include pain, depression, cognitive dysfunction, sleep issues, and anxiety (among others). Functionality is tremendously impaired by physical as well as non-motor symptoms. Recent treatment has begun to incorporate non-conventional interventions that are more functional and tailored to the patients with PD. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to determine the effectiveness of exercise interventions at alleviating PD symptoms, as measured by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). Additionally, this review qualitatively explored whether endurance-based or non-endurance based exercise interventions were more beneficial at alleviating PD symptoms. Two reviewers screened the title and abstract records (n = 668) found in the initial search. Subsequently the reviewers completed full-text screening of the remaining articles for inclusion.. Following this, a total of 25 articles were considered to be eligible and included in the review and data was extracted for meta-analysis. The interventions lasted from 4 to 26 weeks. Results indicated a positive overall effect of therapeutic exercise on patients with PD, where the overall d-index was 0.155. Qualitatively no difference was observed between aerobic and non-aerobic forms of exercise.