Abstract

EFFECTS OF VISUAL CUES ON BALANCE AND FUNCTIONAL MOBILITY IN PATIENTS WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE

Dr. Trupti Siddapur*, Dr. Shilpa Khandare and Dr. Tushar Palekar

Abstract

Introduction: Parkinson‟s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, characterised by the cardinal features of rigidity, tremors, bradykinesia & postural instability. Balance disturbances and gait alteration are common in Parkinson‟s disease. The concept of „cueing‟ relates to the pro vision of sensory information. It has been suggested that PD patients suffer from deficient internal cue production. External sensory cues (Visual, visual and somatosensory) have been shown to improve motor function in subjects with PD, including improvement of gait. Method: 15 patients with age group 40-80 years were selected by convenient sampling. Intervention was given for balance and gait training by using external Visual cues thrice a week for 4 weeks. Pre and Post assessment was done before starting of 1st session and at the end of 12th session by using TUG, BBS and cadence measurement. Statistical analysis was done by using Wilcoxon signed rank test. Result: Significant improvement in pre and post scores of TUG (p=0.001), BBS (p=0.046) and Cadence measurement (p=0.026) was observed. This was found to be statistically and clinically significant. Conclusion: This study concludes that Visual cueing has shown significant improvement in overall evaluation of TUG score, BBS score and cadence measurement. So this study accepts the hypothesis that External cueing by using Visual cues is effective in improving balance and Functional mobility in patients with Parkinson‟s disease.

Keywords: Parkinson?s disease, Balance, Gait, Visual cue.