Affiliations: School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Julie Nantel, PhD., Assistant Professor, School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, 125 rue Université, Pavillon Montpetit, MNT 353, Ottawa, K1N 6N5, Canada. Tel.: +1 613 562 5800/Ext. 4025; Fax: +1 613 562 5497; E-mail: jnantel@uottawa.ca.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess the effect of walking with Nordic Walking (NW) poles on postural stability and gait spatial-temporal characteristics in individuals with PD and to determine the cognitive load associated operating the poles. METHODS: Twelve individuals with PD (age: 61.6±11.7) were asked to perform four 90 s walking trials; with/without poles and with/without verbal fluency task (category fluency) after a 6-week independent NW training. We assessed gait spatial-temporal characteristics, and trunk postural stability using the APDM accelerometry system. RESULTS: Trunk frontal range of motion and peak velocity were smaller in NW compared to normal walking with and without the cognitive task (p < 0.01). Cadence, gait speed and stride length decreased in both pole conditions when performed with the cognitive task (p < 0.05). However stride length was longer with poles compared to without poles. CONCLUSIONS: The reduced range of motion and velocity of the trunk in the frontal plane of motion suggest that NW can improve postural stability independently of the addition of a cognitive task. Compared to normal walking, spatial-temporal characteristics did not further decline when the cognitive task was combined to NW. This suggests that NW is a suitable practice for gait rehabilitation protocols in PD.
