The Effects of the Hopeful Outdoor Parkinson Exercise (HOPE) Program on Improving Balance Performance in Parkinsonian Non-fallers and Single Fallers

Previous studies demonstrated that multi-modal balance training program was effective in improving balance performance in people with PD. However they did not include all the balance domains and outdoor fall-prone activities have been overlooked. We designed a task- and context-specific balance training program based on the framework of the Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest) to target all six balance domains including biomechanical constraints, stability limits and verticality, anticipatory postural adjustments, reactive postural responses, sensori-motor integration and dynamic gait control.