Nordic walking versus resistance training on balance and gait in subjects with parkinson’s disease

Background: Postural and gait instabilities can lead to poor quality of life and disability, and are predictors of reduced survival in individuals with Parkinson’s Disease. Nordic Walking is a relatively high intensity activity that may reduce physical inactivity improving muscle endurance and making walking a total body workout. Resistance training has shown to improve muscle strength, bradykinesia and quality of life in these subjects. Objectives: To compare the effect of Nordic walking and resistance training on balance and gait in subjects with Parkinson’s Disease. Materials and Methods: 30 subjects were recruited for the study based on inclusion criteria and were divided into two groups. Group A received Nordic walking while Group B received resistance training. Treatment sessions were scheduled for 35 minutes per day, 6 days a week, for 2 weeks. Prior-to and post-intervention, subjects were assessed for balance and gait using Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and Functional Gait Assessment Scale (FGAS) respectively. Result: Post-intervention, both the groups improved significantly (p<0.001). When the post-test scores were compared between the groups, there was a statistically significant difference showing that the subjects in Group A improved better than the subjects in Group B (p<0.05). Conclusion: Based on the results, it can be concluded that both Nordic walking and resistance training helped to improve balance and gait function but Nordic walking was more effective than resistance training in improving balance and gait in subjects with Parkinson’s Disease.