Affiliations: [a] Division of Physiotherapy, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, UK
| [b] Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Brunel University London, UK
| [c] Neuro-otology Unit, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, UK
| [d] Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, UK
| [e] Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| [f] School of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Exeter, UK
Correspondence:
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Correspondence to: Dr. Elmar Kal, College of Health, Medi-cine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, United Kingdom. E-mail: elmar.kal@brunel.ac.uk.
Abstract: Freezing of gait (FOG) can severely compromise daily functioning in people with Parkinson’s disease. Inability to initiate a step from FOG is likely underpinned, at least in part, by a deficient preparatory weight-shift. Conscious attempts to weight-shift in preparation to step can improve success of initiating forward steps following FOG. However, FOG often occurs during turning, where weight-shifting is more complex and risk of falling is higher. We explored the effectiveness of a dance-based (‘cha-cha’) weight-shifting strategy to re-initiate stepping following FOG during turning. Results suggest that this simple movement strategy can enhance turning steps following FOG, without compromising safety.
