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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Aging Neurosci.

Sec. Parkinson’s Disease and Aging-related Movement Disorders

Volume 17 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2025.1496112

This article is part of the Research Topic Multifactorial balance assessment, falls prevention and rehabilitation View all 7 articles

Effects of different exercises on improving gait performance in patients with Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Ying Li Ying Li 1*Jieling Huang Jieling Huang 2Jinguo Wang Jinguo Wang 1Yue Cheng Yue Cheng 3
  • 1 Jishou University, Jishou, China
  • 2 Macao Polytechnic University, Macau, Macao, SAR China
  • 3 People’s Hospital of Changshou, Changshou, Chongqing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: Gait disorder represents a characteristic symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD), and exercise has been established as an effective intervention for gait management in PD. However, the relative efficacy of various exercise types in improving gait among PD patients remains unclear. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of different movement-based interventions in enhancing gait for individuals with PD through a network meta-analysis. Method: A comprehensive search was conducted across multiple databases, including PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, and CNKI. The methodological quality of included studies was evaluated using the Cochrane Bias risk tool. Data was extracted from these studies to compare the efficacy of 29 distinct exercise interventions on gait performance in patients with PD.The analysis encompassed 68 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), involving a total of 3114 participants. The results of the network meta-analysis showed that DE is higher than CON (SMD, 2.11; 95%CI,1.07 to 3.15), WE (SMD, 2.16; 95%CI 0.90 to 3.43), HE (SMD, 2.19; 95%CI 0.95 to 3.44), OE (SMD, 2.66; 95%CI 1.16 to 4.16), TR (SMD, 2.62; 95%CI 1.45 to 3.79) to better improve Gait velocity in patients with Parkinson's disease. DE is superior to CON (SMD, 2.08; 95%CI0.04 to 4.13) in improving Step length. FAE is superior to CON (SMD, 1.01; 95%CI 0.04 to 1.98), BDJN

    Keywords: Parkinson's disease, Gait, 6MWT, Network meta-analysis, Systematic review

    Received: 13 Sep 2024; Accepted: 14 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Li, Huang, Wang and Cheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Ying Li, Jishou University, Jishou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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