Last year, two UNLV researchers found that a subtle change by physical therapists can reap significant benefits for people with Parkinson's disease. Cool, they thought, we got the answer we expected. But then they wondered: What else might this mean?
Physical therapy professor Merrill Landers and kinesiology professor Gabriele Wulf are exploring ways to treat Parkinson's disease through physical therapy and balance exercises. In a study published last year, they found that directing patients' attention to the outcome of their movements, rather than the movement itself, improved patient balance. Landers describes the distinction as the difference between a golfer focusing on the movement of the club rather than the movement of the golfer's arms. The distinction is subtle, he says, but the implications could change how physical therapists work with Parkinson's patients to prevent falls and preserve health.
A loss of balance is a critical issue for patients with Parkinson's, which attacks the central nervous system, causing tremors, slurred speech, and muscles that are no longer responsive to the will. "Training to compensate for the balance problems is a big part of treatment," Wulf says. "We hope our research will make that training more effective."
Debilitating falls that cause fractures and trips to the hospital are common in Parkinson's patients. "Also, people who fall have a fear of falling, so they socially isolate themselves. They stop going to church, to restaurants. When they socially isolate themselves, they become more depressed," Landers says. "It's just a vicious cycle."
But the results of the study helped spur research beyond the use of physical therapy in improving balance. Now they want to know what effects exercise might have on the brain. Exercise slowed the development of symptoms of Parkinson's disease in rats, and Landers is now proposing a similar study on people. "The idea is to see if exercise doesn't just improve muscle function and a person's ability to do things, but if it also changes the underlying course of the disease," Landers says.
As he sits in his office and talks about the research, Landers is enthusiastic about developments in Parkinson's treatment. He talks about the effects of exercise on all aspects of a person's health: muscular, physical, cardiovascular, skeletal, and emotional. Recent research indicates a relationship between the physical activity and protection against degeneration of the brain.
"The underlying implication is that if you have early detection of Parkinson's disease and get on an exercise program, it can slow the course of the disease," Landers says. "This is really exciting stuff."
