Exercise and Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive, often debilitating, neurologic disorder, and as such is a frequent reason for referral to rehabilitation professionals. Early exercise combined with drug therapy and appropriate medical management has been recommended as a means to delay the onset of physical disability. There is no generally accepted consensus about which, if any, exercise interventions are most beneficial for individuals with PD, and there have been only a few studies of the outcomes of exercise programs. The chief aims of this paper are to review published data on exercise in PD, present several case studies of individuals with PD who have undergone aerobic exercise training, and make recommendations for future studies. Studies were divided into the acute responses to exercise, the impact of medications, and chronic responses to exercise training. Most of the available evidence is too limited to reach definite conclusions. There is a need for more randomized, controlled trials using reliable, validated outcome measures to study the impact of exercise in individuals with PD.