Stride length-cadence relationship in parkinsonian gait

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder which modulates motor function from speech to gait. Gait disorders are the most disabling motor impairments in PD patients, as they affect their quality of life. The regulation of the stride length represents one of the main goals in rehabilitation interventions in PD subjects. However, the effects of physical therapy interventions on the stride length-cadence relationship (SLCrel) in PD subjects have not been examined due to the lack of a gait evaluation that explores that relationship. Furthermore, the use of treadmills in gait rehabilitation in PD patients has been proven to improve gait performance. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these improvements will ameliorate the efficacy of physical therapy in PD. However, it remains unclear whether walking on the treadmill changes the SLCrel in PD. The presented work consists of two studies. The first explores the reliability of the SLCrel in a group of PD subjects. The second investigates the SLCrel in PD subjects walking on a treadmill vs. overground, and compare with age-matched healthy subjects. The results of this thesis confirm that SLCrel in parkinsonian gait is a reproducible measure across a period of three months, and may be a useful tool to explore the specificity of gait rehabilitation interventions in PD subjects. Furthermore, support the potential therapeutic effects of treadmill walking for gait rehabilitation in PD.