Treadmill Training in People With Parkinson's Disease

Treadmill Training With Concurrently Controlled Speed and Cadence in People With Parkinson's Disease

The study will explore if coupling speed and cadence during treadmill training elicit more benefits than controlling speed alone in individuals with Parkinson's disease.

Impaired gait is prevalent and raises the fall risk in people with Parkinson's Disease (PwPD). Gait speed, step length, and cadence are three interrelated components of human gait, as speed is determined by step length and cadence. Auditory cues, such as metronomes, have been shown to aid training for PwPD. The purpose of this study is to examine if controlling cadence and speed improves overground gait parameters in PwPD better than only controlling speed. Two groups of PwPD will participate. Both groups will attend a single treadmill training session. Both groups will complete overground walking trials as a pre-test measurement. One group will receive treadmill training in which cadence, via a metronome, and speed are controlled, while only speed is controlled for the other group. Both groups will complete the same overground walking trials as a post-test measurements. The specific aim of this study is to determine the effects of metronome cues and gait speed versus gait speed alone treadmill training on spatiotemporal gait parameters when walking overground in PwPD.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Can read and understand English
• Between the ages of 18-89 years old
• Diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease
• Stage 1-3 based on the Hoehn and Yahr
• Able to walk overground more than 15m independently
• Able to walk on a treadmill for at least 15 minutes independently

Exclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosed with any uncontrolled cardiorespiratory or metabolic disease
• Experience any other known neurologic disorders that affect their ability to walk
• Diagnosed with any visual or communication disorders
• Suffered a lower extremity injury within the last 6 months