Lucia Gassner
Background: Sport climbing (SC) is a whole-body workout, which recruits simultaneously physical, psychological, and social abilities. In the field of neurological rehabilitation, SC is already used as therapeutic climbing. Surprisingly, there is a lack of evidence on benefits of SC with Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. SC seems to be relevant and beneficial for PD patients who suffer from motor impairments. The purpose of this study is to investigate if SC has a positive influence on gait of PD patients. Methods: We evaluated the effects of sport climbing (SC) on gait in 46 PD patients, who were randomized into a climbing group (n=22) and a control group (n=24). The climbing group followed a 12-week 90 min/week supervised climbing training course. The control group received information material of the European physiotherapy guidelines for physical activity recommended by the WHO. They were instructed to follow the recommendation of the guidelines to independently life an active lifestyle and train unsupervised. Using movement sensors, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale, and Hoehn and Yahr scale, we quantified the effects on PD patients due to SC. Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test were used foranalyzation. Results: SC improves gait and clinical-motoric parameters in PD patients. A more active lifestyle helps to improve motor-related functions in PD patients
