Structured guideline-based physiotherapy reduces difficulties in activities of daily living in Parkinson's disease

Background In the long term, Parkinson's disease (PD) leads to the development of difficulties in daily functional tasks. There remains a paucity of evidence on the effectiveness of physiotherapy on patient-perceived difficulties regarding basic activities of daily living (ADL). Objectives To assess an effect of a versatile physiotherapy intervention on patient-perceived difficulties in basic ADL. Methods The study sample included 24 patients (10 men and 14 women) with PD. Participants were randomly assigned into intervention (IG) and control groups (CG). Two assessments were performed with a gap of 10 weeks. Following first assessment, during an 8-week period, IG participants attended sixteen physiotherapy 60-minutes sessions in groups that were divided into five parts to address the core areas recommended by the European Physiotherapy Guideline for PD (EPGPD): gait, transfers, balance, physical capacity, and manual activities. The main assessment tool was the Modified Patients Specific Functional Scale (ModPSFS), which represents a self-assessment rating on difficulties perceived in 17 different commonly occurring activities. Results IG members reported a significant reduction in self-perceived difficulties as assessed by ModPSFS (effect size 1.39; 95%CI 5.1, 26.6 points, p = 0.005). Conclusions 2-months conventional physiotherapy with incorporated core areas recommended in EPGPD for PD reduced patient-perceived difficulties in basic ADL.