High Intensity Functional Training for People with Parkinson's & Their Care Partners: A Feasibility Study

Various forms of exercise have proven health benefits for people with Parkinson's (pwPD) yet high intensity functional training (HIFT) has yet to be studied. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility, physical and psychosocial impacts of a HIFT program for pwPD and their care partners (CPs).

A single group, pre-post design with assessments before, in the middle (13 weeks), and after the 25-week intervention.

Community fitness facility.

Fourteen pwPD (10 at Hoehn Yahr Stage ≤2, 4 females) and 10 CPs (5 females) were included (mean age = 71.5 (6.1)).

A 25-week HIFT program (≤49 exercise sessions, ≤75 min long).

Recruitment, retention, attendance, safety and exercise intensity (measured via session-Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE)) was assessed in addition to cardiovascular endurance, lower extremity strength, walking speed, balance, exercise self-efficacy, balance confidence, social support for exercise and health-related quality of life.

Descriptive data was used to describe feasibility measures. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare pre- and post-program data. Effect size, r, was calculated.

Recruitment rates were ≥40% for pwPD and CPs and retention rates were 80% for pwPD and 62.5% for CPs. Average session attendance was 71.2% with 15 adverse events reported, including 7 non-injurious falls. Median session-RPE was 5 (IQR = 1) out of 10. PwPD demonstrated significant improvements in cardiovascular endurance, self-selected and fast walking speeds, balance and social support for exercise. CPs demonstrated significant improvements in cardiovascular endurance and lower extremity strength. Exercise self-efficacy, balance confidence and health-related quality of life did not significantly change for pwPD or CPs.

High intensity functional training appears feasible for pwPD and their CPs and may lead to health benefits. Healthcare providers should consider HIFT as another option to engage pwPD in community-based exercise.