Efficacy of a Recreation Therapy Wellness Recovery Program for Individuals With Parkinson's Disease

The Recreation Therapy Wellness Recovery Program conducts group classes which provide repetitive training of foundational skills designed specifically for those with Parkinson's Disease. The course will encourage bigger and faster movements (adapted from the Parkinson Wellness Recovery, PWR!Moves ® program) and education on optimal function.

The purpose of this project is to evaluate a currently active community-based Recreational Therapy (RT) Wellness Recovery Program (WRP) for individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) to determine the efficacy of the treatment intervention. Since PD is a progressive, degenerative neurological disease, it is critical that individuals with this diagnosis remain as active as possible to slow down the progression of the disease, improve balance and strength, and increase health-related quality of life. The overall goal of this project is to determine the efficacy of a neuroplasticity physical activity program in terms of improving balance, improving health-related quality of life, reducing stress, and increasing satisfaction in exercise including social connectedness of group exercise. There is evidence that the neuroplasticity model may be a more effective type of intervention than traditional exercise programs in improving symptoms of PD. The neuroplasticity approach requires repetition of complex tasks that are high intensity and present a novel challenge. This type of intervention has been shown to improve motor and cognitive behaviors which are critical areas of decline for those with PD. The WRP program uses a comprehensive neuroplasticity-principled program that integrates exercise and wellness. The PI, Julie Bradwell, LRT/CTRS is a Certified Instructor for Parkinson Wellness Recovery Power Moves. The RT Wellness Recovery program at Wake Forest Baptist Health is modeled on the Parkinson Wellness Recovery Power Moves. Components within the program include the Parkinson Power Moves and the exercise 4 Brain Change. This study will be a 14-week study with the first two weeks of collecting baseline data and immediately following with a 12-week intervention program to increase balance, health-related quality of life, and satisfaction in exercise in individuals with PD as well as reduce stress. Most research on RT interventions for this population are in traditional settings (inpatient or rehabilitation settings). When discharged from these settings, many individuals become less active, have few social interactions and lose the benefits of exercise and physical therapy they gained while in these programs once they are home. The WRP community-based program at Wake Forest Baptist Health has the potential to prevent secondary complications as well as slow down the progression of the disease for participants. If the outcomes of this project suggest this type of intervention will improve the functional skills, quality of life, and/or satisfaction in exercise for individuals with PD and reduce stress, it will provide the RT discipline with evidenced based practice intervention for this population