Effectiveness of Rebound Therapy in Parkinson's Patients

Today, physiotherapy approaches in Parkinson's Disease (PD) form the basis of optimal treatment together with medical and surgical treatment. It is stated that various rehabilitation interventions may be effective in the field of physiotherapy. The frequently preferred among these rehabilitation interventions is the conventional treatment approach. In the conventional treatment, various exercises are preferred to improve balance and walking, as well as stretching and strengthening. On the other hand, rebound therapy require strong integration of the neuromuscular system and provide more active use of lower extremity muscle strength. Rebound therapy have been shown to be effective in improving balance in many neurological disease groups, but there is very little study on rebound therapy in PD. It was shown that rebound therapy improve proprioceptive sense, joint range of motion and quality of life. On the other hand, no study has been found showing its effect on balance and walking. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the effectiveness of rebound therapy on balance and walking.

This study is a randomized controlled study. The patients will be randomly divided into two groups as rebound and control. The rebound group will perform exercises on a trampoline, consisting of 15 minutes of trunk and extremity stretching, 10 minutes of walking, and approximately 30 minutes of task-oriented exercises, twice a week for six weeks. While the control group will follow the same program as the rebound group, they will only perform task-oriented exercises on a stable surface, unlike the rebound group. As the outcome measures, disease severity and disability, balance, and gait performance will be evaluated.