Effects of Nordic walking on Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials

Abstract

Several exercise modalities improve the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Among the variety of physical exercises, Nordic walking has been used. The aim of this study was to summarize scientific literature on effects of Nordic walking on patients with PD by a systematic review of randomized clinical trials. The following electronic databases were selected: MEDLINE by Pubmed, Cochrane, PEDro, SCOPUS and Web of Science and articles identified by manual search, without restriction of date and language. The reviewers evaluated the articles and selected studies according to the eligibility criteria. The following data were extracted from the selected studies: publication identification, participants’ characteristics (sex, age, disease stage, duration of disease), experimental intervention characteristics, control group characteristics, duration, follow-up time, outcome measures and main results. Nordic walking programs with moderate and high intensities, with a minimum of 12 sessions of 60 minutes in a period from 6 to 24 weeks promoted positive effects on the severity, gait, balance, quality of life, functional capacity and motor function in patients with PD.

Beneficios de la actividad física durante un lapso de 16 semanas en pacientes con Enfermedad de Parkinson de la fundación “FUNDAPE”, Marzo–Septiembre 2019

“…Un estudio Brasileño, compara la mejoría del equilibrio tras ejercicio aeróbico con marcha nórdica vs marcha libre, tras un período de 9 semanas o 12 sesiones, en personas mayores a 50 años con EP y reporta mejoría en el equilibrio, (p=0.035) en ambos tipos de marcha [22]. Da Silva et al, destacan un estudio de intervención con marcha nórdica de 6 a 24 semanas, de moderada a alta intensidad, con mejoras en el equilibrio mediante el uso del test de la escala de Berg [23]. Kurt et al, en su ensayo concluyen que la mejora del equilibrio dinámico fue significativamente mayor en el grupo que realizó Ai Chi (tipo de actividad física acuática) vs el grupo que realizó ejercicio en tierra ( p <0.001); sin embargo ambos grupos tuvieron una mejora significativa [24].…”

Successful Ageing: An Opportunity and Responsibility for All

“…He was following my prescription and religiously executing his physiotherapy regime. Studies have suggested that Nordic walking [15] and physiotherapy [16] help in stabilizing gait in patients suffering from Parkinsonism as well as slow its progression. Mr. Mohan Lal would visit me every 3 months.…”

Effects of Nordic walking in people with Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…To the very best of the authors' knowledge, four systematic reviews on the benefits of NW on people with PD have been published so far. Silva et al (2016), offered preliminary conclusions since three out of the five randomised controlled trials (RCTs) reviewed showed a poor methodological quality. In this vein, Cugusi et al(2017) could not provide a firm conclusion regarding the efficacy of this practice due to the high heterogeneity of the six RCTs analysed in their review.…”

“…To the very best of the authors' knowledge, four systematic reviews on the benefits of NW on people with PD have been published so far. Silva et al (2016), offered preliminary conclusions since three out of the five randomised controlled trials (RCTs) reviewed showed a poor methodological quality.…”