The benefit of a home exercise regimen for ambulatory Parkinson's disease patients

The Home Visiting Exercise Project assessed the impact (benefit) of a weekly home exercise regimen for ambulatory patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The exercises were taught by senior nursing students. In a case control study with 29 patients, half were assigned to a home-supervised exercise regimen and the other half were assigned a home visit without an exercise regimen. The hypothesis was that PD patients who received a weekly home nursing student-supervised exercise regimen would experience better mobility, feeding and self-care as compared to patients who received a weekly home visit from a nursing student without exercises. Patients who participated in the exercise regimen showed significant improvement in recent memory, diminution of nausea, improved sucking ability, and less urinary retention and incontinence. This research was supported by a grant from the National Parkinson's Foundation, Miami, Florida.