Fatigue and Muscle Strength Involving Walking Speed in Parkinson’s Disease: Insights for Developing Rehabilitation Strategy for PD

Abstract

Background. Problems with gait in Parkinson's disease (PD) are a challenge in neurorehabilitation, partly because the mechanisms causing the walking disability are unclear. Weakness and fatigue, which may significantly influence gait, are commonly reported by patients with PD. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between weakness and fatigue and walking ability in patients with PD. Methods. We recruited 25 patients with idiopathic PD and 25 age-matched healthy adults. The maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), twitch force, and voluntary activation levels were measured before and after a knee fatigue exercise. General fatigue, central fatigue, and peripheral fatigue were quantified by exercise-induced changes in MVC, twitch force, and activation level. In addition, subjective fatigue was measured using the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) and Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). Results. The patients with PD had lower activation levels, more central fatigue, and more subjective fatigue than the healthy controls. There were no significant differences in twitch force or peripheral fatigue index between the two groups. The reduction in walking speed was related to the loss of peripheral strength and PD itself. Conclusion. Fatigue and weakness of central origin were related to PD, while peripheral strength was important for walking ability. The results suggest that rehabilitation programs for PD should focus on improving both central and peripheral components of force.

Low-Intensity Electrical Stimulation to Improve the Neurological Aspect of Weakness in Individuals with Chronic Anterior Cruciate Ligament Lesion

“…For evaluating VA, the femoral nerve was stimulated at the supramaximal intensity before and during the MVC of the quadriceps to elicit unpotentiated resting twitch, interpolated twitch (Ti), and potentiated resting twitch (Figure 2(a)). The unpotentiated resting twitch and potentiated resting twitch were then averaged to obtain the control twitch (Tc) for further calculation of VA. VA was calculated from formula (1) [7,8,18]. The measurements of VA were repeated three times with 5 seconds in between.…”

“…For a paired pulsed protocol, the conditioning stimulation intensity was set at 80% of this threshold. The interstimulation intervals were 2 and 3 ms for measuring short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) and 10, 13, and 16 ms for measuring ICF [18]. The MEP was measured 6 times at intervals of 9.5 to 10.5 seconds apart and in random order.…”

Can fatigue predict walking capacity of patients with Parkinson’s disease?

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