Effectiveness of Resistance Exercises Added to Aerobic and Balance Exercises in Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by bradykinesia, rigidity, resting tremor and postural instability. It can lead to numerous motor, neuropsychiatric, cognitive, and autonomic symptoms. In advanced stages, it can increase the risk of falling by causing postural instability. Sarcopenia is characterized by a decrease in muscle mass and function. Sarcopenia prevalence increases with age, leading to increased fragility and risk of falling. Studies have shown that various exercise programs, including aerobic, balance, and resistive exercises, have positive effects on rigidity, tremor, gait disorders, and physical capacity in patients diagnosed with PD. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of resistive exercises added to aerobic and balance exercises on quality of life, activities of daily living, cognitive functions, and sarcopenia parameters in patients diagnosed with early-stage PD.

Adults who aged between 40-70 years, diagnosed with PD and meet predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria will be enrolled and randomly assigned to one of two exercise based treatment groups. Both groups will receive aerobic and balance exercises, while one group will additionaly receive resistive exercises. Both groups will undergo exercise programs three days a week for eight weeks. Evaluations will be conducted using the The Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39), Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), SARC-F Questionnaire, Berg Balance Test, Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living, Montreal Cognitive Assesment (MoCA), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PH-9), functional performance tests, grip strentgh measurements and quadriceps muscle thickness measurement via ultrasonography. Evaluations will be performed at baseline, on the first day after the treatment and 4 weeks after the end of the treatment.