Physical therapy management of middle and late stage of Huntington’s disease

Abstract

Huntington's Disease (HD) is a progressive degenerative brain disease manifested by motor, mental and behavioral disorders. Physiotherapy is necessary especially in patients in the middle and late stage. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of different physiotherapy interventions to improve the clinical picture of patients with HD in the middle and late stage. The Google Scholar, PubMed and PEDro databases were searched with different combinations of the following keywords: Huntington's disease, HD, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, respiratory physiotherapy, PNF, neuroplasticity. This review included clinical studies, reviews and case studies. It seems that physiotherapy in patients with HD cannot inhibit the progression of the disease, but can significantly improve the functioning of patients; thus, contributing to improving their quality of life. The results of this review show that physiotherapy should be an integral part of a holistic approach that includes interventions that address all the manifestations of the disease, both physical (motor, nervous, cardiovascular and respiratory) and mental.