Vestibular rehabilitation improves the balance of persons with Parkinson′s disease

Objective To explore the effect of vestibular rehabilitation on the balance function of patients with Parkinson′s disease. Methods Sixty-one patients with Parkinson′s disease were randomly divided into a treatment group of 30 and a control group of 31. Both groups were given the usual health education about fall prevention, while the treatment group was additionally provided with 50 to 70 minutes of vestibular rehabilitation training 6 times a week for 8 weeks. The training included the adaptability training, balance training and gait training. Before and after the treatment, both groups were evaluated with the unified Parkinson′s disease rating scale (part III) (UPDRS III), the Berg balance scale (BBS), the Timed Up and Go test (TUGT) and the 39-item Parkinson′s disease questionnaire (PDQ39). Results There were no significant differences in the average UPDRS III, BBS or PDQ39 scores nor in the average TUGT times between the two groups before the treatment. After the treatment there was still no significant difference in groups′ average UPDRS III and PDQ39 scores, but the average TUGT times and BBS scores of the treatment group were then significantly improved and significantly better than the control group′s averages. Conclusion Vestibular rehabilitation training can improve the balance and walking ability of those with Parkinson′s disease. It can serve as an important ancillary treatment to drug therapy. Key words: Parkinson′s disease; Vestibular rehabilitation; Balance