Influence of treadmill training in dual-task gait in people with Parkinson’s Disease: a case report

Correspondence to: Angélica Vieira Cavalcanti de Sousa – Rua Eletricista Elias Ferreira, 2600, apto. 901C, Natture Condomínio Club, Candelária – CEP 59066-050 – Natal (RN), Brazil – E-mail: [email protected] Presentation: Sept. 2013 – Accepted for publication: July 2014 – Financing source: National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) – Conflict of Interests: nothing to declare – Approval at the Ethics Committee 143.802, CAAE 03063812.0.0000.5537. ABSTRACT | The loss in the automaticity of gait hinders the performance of concurrent activities – Dual Task (DT) – in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). One hypothesis for the negative interference of DT on gait is related to the limitation of attention resources in the brain for different activities. When the automation of a task occurs, the negative interference of DT on the gait can be minimized. Because the treadmill promotes automaticity of a better locomotion pattern, due to the repetition that promotes motor learning, the study sought to investigate whether treadmill training can improve the performance of gait on DT in people with PD. Three individuals were evaluated in the on-phase of the antiparkinsonian medication regarding the kinematics (Qualisys Motion Capture System) while in gait, simultaneously performing cognitive activities. Subsequently, the subjects performed a 20-minute workout on the treadmill and were reassessed during gait in cognitive activities. There were increases in the length of the cycle (p=0.01), the length of the step (p=0.01) and in total swing time (p=0.03), and a decrease in the total length of support (p=0.03). These results indicate that treadmill training can promote improvement in the performance of DT on gait in individuals with PD. Longitudinal studies with this focus of research are needed.