Effects of Mental Practice in Gait of Individuals With Parkinson Disease: Randomized Clinical Trial

Familiarization with gait cycle: Cards with pictures of an elderly person performing movements related to the adjustment of posture, gait initiation and gait phases were shown to the subjects. They should have organized them sequentially, showing that they learned gait phases.

Physical practice: is the execution of the motor action.

The control group underwent familiarization of gait phases using cards with gait phases and physical gait training.

Familiarization with gait cycle: Cards with pictures of an elderly person performing movements related to the adjustment of posture, gait initiation and gait phases were shown to the subjects. They should have organized them sequentially, showing that they learned gait phases. Then, they were submitted to a physical gait training. They underwent a single training session during 1 hour and 30 minutes and were reassessed 10 minutes and 1 day after the end of the session, in respect of the kinematic gait and mobility.

Familiarization with gait cycle: Cards with pictures of an elderly person performing movements related to the adjustment of posture, gait initiation and gait phases were shown to the subjects. They should have organized them sequentially, showing that they learned gait phases.

Mental practice: is defined as motor imagery training with the aim of improving the engine performance. Is the imagination of a motor action without its physical implementation.

Physical practice: is the execution of the motor action.

The experimental group underwent familiarization of gait phases using cards with gait phases, mental practice of gait and physical gait training.

Familiarization with gait cycle: Cards with pictures of an elderly person performing movements related to the adjustment of posture, gait initiation and gait phases were shown to the subjects. They should have organized them sequentially, showing that they learned gait phases.

Then, they were submitted to a mental training of gait. They imagined the gait steps per 400 repetitions. While imagining, they verbalized the gait phases.

Finally, they were submitted to a physical gait training. They executed 400 steps.

They underwent a single training session during 1 hour and 30 minutes and were reassessed 10 minutes and 1 day after the end of the session, in respect of the kinematic gait and mobility.