Tai Chi for Reducing Dual-task Gait Variability, a Potential Mediator of Fall Risk in Parkinson’s Disease: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial:

ObjectivesTo assess the feasibility and inform design features of a fully powered randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating the effects of Tai Chi (TC) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and to select outcomes most responsive to TC assessed during off-medication states.DesignTwo-arm, wait-list controlled RCT.SettingsTertiary care hospital.SubjectsThirty-two subjects aged 40–75 diagnosed with idiopathic PD within 10 years.InterventionsSix-month TC intervention added to usual care (UC) versus UC alone.Outcome MeasuresPrimary outcomes were feasibility-related (recruitment rate, adherence, and compliance). Change in dual-task (DT) gait stride-time variability (STV) from baseline to 6 months was defined, a priori, as the clinical outcome measure of primary interest. Other outcomes included: PD motor symptom progression (Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale [UPDRS]), PD-related quality of life (PDQ-39), executive function (Trail Making Test), balance confidence (Activity-Specific Balance Confidence Scale, ABC),...