Effects of Structured Functional Turning Practice Within a Time-Matched Exercise Program on Functional Mobility, Gait Speed, and Balance in Early-Stage Parkinson’s Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Institute of Health Sciences, Üsküdar University, Istanbul 34768, Türkiye
- 2Department of Gerontology, İnönü University, Malatya 44280, Türkiye
- 3Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Istanbul Gelişim University, Istanbul 34310, Türkiye
- 4Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Üsküdar University, Istanbul 34768, Türkiye
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Turning frequently precipitates falls in Parkinson’s disease (PD) but is rarely trained systematically. We examined whether replacing part of a conventional exercise session with structured turning practice improves functional mobility, gait speed, and balance in early-stage PD. Methods: Fifty patients with PD (Hoehn and Yahr stage 1–2; aged 50–70 years) were randomized to a time-matched program in which 18–20 min of each 45–50 min session was devoted to turning practice and the remainder to a reduced conventional program (n = 25), or to a full conventional program (n = 25), three times weekly for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was the Timed Up and Go test (TUG); secondary outcomes were gait speed (10-Meter Walk Test) and the Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Outcome assessment was not blinded. Groups were compared with baseline-adjusted analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results: All participants completed the study. Adjusted differences favored the turning group for TUG (−1.79 s; 95% confidence interval [CI] −1.98 to −1.61), gait speed (0.116 m/s; 95% CI 0.108 to 0.124), and BBS (1.84 points; 95% CI 1.50 to 2.17) (all p < 0.001). Conclusions: In high-functioning patients with early-stage PD, a time-matched program including structured turning practice produced larger short-term improvements in TUG performance, gait speed, and balance than conventional exercise alone. The effects were unusually large and were obtained with unblinded assessment and with test tasks partly practiced during training; falls and turning quality were not measured. Assessor-blinded trials with turning-specific outcomes and fall recording are needed. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT07442370.
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BibTeX
@article{uzun2026effects,
title = {{Effects of Structured Functional Turning Practice Within a Time-Matched Exercise Program on Functional Mobility, Gait Speed, and Balance in Early-Stage Parkinson’s Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial}},
author = {Kübra Uzun and Burak Buğday and Suzan Aydın and Ömer Şevgin},
journal = {Journal of Clinical Medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/jcm15208044},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/20/8044},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Effects of Structured Functional Turning Practice Within a Time-Matched Exercise Program on Functional Mobility, Gait Speed, and Balance in Early-Stage Parkinson’s Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial
AU - Kübra Uzun
AU - Burak Buğday
AU - Suzan Aydın
AU - Ömer Şevgin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Journal of Clinical Medicine
DO - 10.3390/jcm15208044
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/20/8044
AB - Background/Objectives: Turning frequently precipitates falls in Parkinson’s disease (PD) but is rarely trained systematically. We examined whether replacing part of a conventional exercise session with structured turning practice improves functional mobility, gait speed, and balance in early-stage PD. Methods: Fifty patients with PD (Hoehn and Yahr stage 1–2; aged 50–70 years) were randomized to a time-matched program in which 18–20 min of each 45–50 min session was devoted to turning practice and the remainder to a reduced conventional program (n = 25), or to a full conventional program (n = 25), three times weekly for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was the Timed Up and Go test (TUG); secondary outcomes were gait speed (10-Meter Walk Test) and the Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Outcome assessment was not blinded. Groups were compared with baseline-adjusted analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results: All participants completed the study. Adjusted differences favored the turning group for TUG (−1.79 s; 95% confidence interval [CI] −1.98 to −1.61), gait speed (0.116 m/s; 95% CI 0.108 to 0.124), and BBS (1.84 points; 95% CI 1.50 to 2.17) (all p < 0.001). Conclusions: In high-functioning patients with early-stage PD, a time-matched program including structured turning practice produced larger short-term improvements in TUG performance, gait speed, and balance than conventional exercise alone. The effects were unusually large and were obtained with unblinded assessment and with test tasks partly practiced during training; falls and turning quality were not measured. Assessor-blinded trials with turning-specific outcomes and fall recording are needed. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT07442370.
SN - 2077-0383
ER -