Early postural changes in individuals with idiopathic Parkinson's disease

The relationship between low back pain, pelvic tilt, and lumbar lordosis with urinary incontinence using the DIERS formetric 4D motion imaging system

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common public health problem and postural changes may be crucial in women presenting with UI. This study was aimed at evaluating the relationship between low back pain (LBP), pelvic tilt (PT), and lumbar lordosis (LL) in women with and without UI using the DIERS formetric 4D motion imaging system. To date no study has to our knowledge compared postural changes and LBP in women with UI using the DIERS 4D formetric system.

METHODS

This was a case-control study. We included 33 women with UI and 33 without incontinence. The severity of urogenital symptoms was assessed by the IIQ-7 (Incontinence Impact Score) and UDI-6 (Urogenital Distress Inventory), and disability owing to LBP was evaluated using the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). Posture and movement assessment, LL angle, thoracic kyphosis, and PT assessment were performed with the DIERS Formetric 4D motion imaging system.

RESULTS

The LL angle and pelvic torsion degree were higher in the incontinence group than in the control group (53.9 ± 9.5° vs 48.18 ± 8.3°; p = 0.012, 3.9 ± 4.1 vs 2.03 ± 1.8 mm; p = 0.018 respectively). The LBP visual analog scale value was also significantly higher in the incontinence group (5.09 ± 2.3 vs 1.7 ± 1.8 respectively, p < 0.0001). The LL angle showed a positive correlation with pelvic obliquity, (r = 0.321, p < 0.01) and fleche lombaire (r = 0.472, p < 0.01) and a negative correlation with lumbar range of motion measurements. Pelvic obliquity correlated positively with pelvic torsion (r = 0.649, p < 0.01), LBP (r = 0.369, p < 0.01), and fleche lombaire (r = 0.269, p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Women with UI were more likely to have lumbopelvic sagittal alignment changes and a higher visual analog scale for LBP. These findings show the need for assessment of lumbopelvic posture in women with UI.

Instrumented Test of Sensory Integration for Balance: A Validation Study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Abnormal postural sway is associated with an increase in risk of falls but is difficult for clinicians to accurately quantify without access to laboratory equipment. Instrumenting clinical outcome measures using body-worn movement monitors is a low-cost alternative. This is the first study to compare the modified Clinical Test of Sensory Integration for Balance (i-mCTSIB) to the laboratory test of the Sensory Organization Test (SOT) with dynamic posturography in a group of participants with Parkinson's disease (PD) and subtle balance limitations. The purpose of this study was to (1) determine the concurrent validity of the i-mCTSIB with the SOT (6 and 4 conditions) and (2) compare the i-mCTSIB and the SOT to differentiate between individuals with and without recent falls within the previous 6 months.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study examined 26 participants with idiopathic PD who had a Motor Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale score of 32.7 (13.5) out of 108.

RESULTS

The composite and conditions 1 and 4 of the i-mCTSIB and SOT scores were significantly correlated: composite scores r = -0.64 (P ≤ .001), C1 r = -0.43 (P = .03), C3 r = -0.60 (P ≤ .01), and C4 r = -0.54 (P ≤ .001). A significant difference was observed in mean i-mCTSIB composite scores between fallers and nonfallers (P = .04). In contrast, the SOT composite was not significantly different between fallers and nonfallers (P = 0.31).

DISCUSSION

The results suggest that the i-mCTSIB may be a valid and clinically meaningful measure of sensory organization in persons with PD, even those with mild postural instability as measured by the median Hoehn and Yahr score (2.0). Future research should evaluate predictive validity of the i-mCTSIB for prospective falls.

CONCLUSION

The instrumented mCTSIB with portable, body-worn movement allows clinicians to quantify abnormal postural sway without the ceiling effects of clinical balance testing or the expense and importability of force plate technology in the SOT. Instrumenting mCTSIB may also distinguish between fallers and nonfallers.

A System for Real-Time Feedback to Improve Gait and Posture in Parkinson's Disease

For people with Parkinson's disease (PD), gait and postural impairments can significantly affect their ability to perform activities of daily living. Presentation of appropriate cues has been shown to improve gait in PD. Based on this, a treadmill-based system and experimental paradigm were developed to determine if people with PD can utilize real-time feedback (RTFB) of step length or back angle (uprightness) to improve gait and posture. Eleven subjects (mean age 67 ± 8 years) with mild-to-moderate PD (Hoehn and Yahr stage I-III) were evaluated regarding their ability to successfully utilize RTFB of back angle or step length during quiet standing and treadmill walking tasks during a single session in their medication-on state. Changes in back angle and step length due to feedback were compared using Friedman nonparametric tests with Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests for post-hoc comparisons. Improvements in uprightness were observed as an increase in back angle during quiet standing (p = 0.005) and during treadmill walking (p = 0.005) with back angle feedback when compared to corresponding tasks without feedback. Improvements in gait were also observed as an increase in step length (p = 0.005) during step length feedback compared to tasks without feedback. These results indicate that people with mild-to-moderate PD can utilize RTFB to improve upright posture and gait. Future work will investigate the long-term effects of this RTFB paradigm and the development of systems for clinical or home-based use.