Research On The Intervention Effect Of Health Qigong Wuqinxi On The Walking And Balance Ability Of Patients With Parkinson’s Disease

Research objective:Parkinson’s disease（PD）is a neurodegenerative disease.PD patients are characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms such as resting tremor,bradykinesia,muscular rigidity,as well as posture and gait disorders.PD remains an incurable disease to date.In light of this,this study was aimed at carrying out an exercise intervention using Health Qigong Wuqinxi in the last 12 months,so as to investigate its efficacy for the improvement on walking and balancing ability in PD patients,as well as exploring whether Health Qigong can provide a scientific theoretical basis,as well as the treatment method and treatment courses for PD patients undergoing assisted exercise therapy.The intervention of PD with Health Qigong Wuqinxi has a practical application value for the modernization of Chinese traditional Wushu culture.Research subjects and methods:From December 2017 to December 2018,34 PD（H&Y 1-3）patients who have met the inclusion criteria and experimental requirements were collected from Fudan-University-Affiliated Huashan Hospital through a 12-month exercise intervention.The experimental group was intervened with Health Qigong Wuqinxi（n=17）,and the control group with no exercise habit（n=17）.The experimental group was given an exercise intervention twice a week and 60 min each time for 12 months according to the experimental scheme.The data were acquired before the experiment,on the 6^thh month,and on the 12^thh month after the start of the intervention.Walking ability was assessed through a 10-m walk test and a freezing of gait questionnaire（FOGQ）;the balancing ability was tested through a one-leg standing test with eyes open/closed,vestibular function examination,and the Berg balance scale（BBS）;the test for motor function was quantified using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Ⅲ（UPDRS Ⅲ）;the quality of daily life was tested using the 39-item Parkinson’s disease questionnaire（PDQ-39）.A database was established using Excel,and the data were analyzed with SPSS 20.0.In the data analysis,the independent sample t-test was used to analyze the continuous baseline variables of PD patients,and the chi-square test to analyze the categorical variables.The repeated measures ANOVA（analysis of variance）was applied to the intra-group and inter-group comparison and the interaction of the experimental group and the control group.Gender（male/female）in the experimental group and the control group was analyzed through a one-way ANOVA.Results:1.The baseline informationAge,height,body weight,medication,gender,onset-admission duration,educational level,the number of falls within 12 months and work showed no statistical differences between the experimental group and the control group（P>0.05）,suggesting comparability.2.The walking ability test resultsAfter exercise intervention for 12 months,10-m walking speed showed no significant differences in the intra-group comparison of the experimental group and the control group（P>0.05）,but it presented a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group（P<0.05）and a highly significant difference in interaction（P<0.01）.In the experimental group,the 10-m walking speed increased and the step frequency increased significantly（by 13.3%）after the experiment compared with those before the experiment,but the strides showed no obvious change（0%）.The increased step frequency has led to the increased walking speed.No significant differences were found in the FOGQ score in the intra-group comparison of the experimental group and the control group（P>0.05）,while a highly significant difference was found in the interaction（P<0.01）.3.The balancing ability test resultsAfter the 12-month exercise intervention,the left-leg standing test with eyes open showed significant differences in the experimental group and the control group（P<0.05）,but no significant difference between the experimental group and the control group or in interaction（P>0.05）.The right-leg standing test with eyes open revealed highly significant differences in the interactions of both the experimental group and the control group（P<0.01）,but no significant difference in intra-group or inter-group comparison（P>0.05）.The left-leg standing test with eyes closed presented no significant differences in the experimental group or the control group（P>0.05）,but a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group（P<0.05）,and highly significant differences in interactions（P<0.01）.The right-leg standing test with eyes closed demonstrated no significant differences in the intra-group or inter-group comparison of the experimental group and the control group（P>0.05）,but significant differences in interactions（P<0.05）.In the experimental group,the time-length of the one-leg standing test with eyes open/closed was prolonged after the experiment compared with that before the experiment.Vestibular function examination showed highly significant differences in the intra-group and inter-group comparison of the experimental group and the control group（P<0.01）,and also highly significant differences in the interactions of the experimental group and the control group（P<0.01）.In the experimental group,the cross-step length decreased dramatically after the experiment than that before the experiment.The BBS score showed no significant difference in the experimental group or the control group（P>0.05）,but a highly significant difference between the experimental group and the control group（P<0.01）,and highly significant differences in the interactions of the experimental group and the control group（P<0.01）.In the experimental group,the BBS score increased obviously after the experiment than that before the experiment.4.The motor function test resultsAt the 6^th and 12^th month of experimental intervention,the UPDRS Ⅲ score in the experimental group decreased from 26.47 to 18.76,while the UPDRS Ⅲ score in the control group increased from 27.29 to 29.30.The UPDRS Ⅲ score showed significant differences in the experimental group and the control group（P<0.05）.No significant difference was found in the UPDRS Ⅲ score between the experimental group and the control group（P>0.05）,whereas the UPDRS Ⅲ score presented highly significant differences in the interactions of the experimental group and the control group（P<0.01）.After the 12-month exercise intervention,the PDQ-39 score demonstrated no significant differences in the intra-group or inter-group comparison of the experimental group and the control group（P>0.05）,but highly significant differences in the interactions of the experimental group and the control group（P<0.01）.In the experimental group,the exercise score in PDQ-39 was significantly lower before the experiment compared with that after the experiment.Conclusions:1.Health Qigong Wuqinxi has an obvious effect in improving the walking ability of PD patients,which is embodied in the improvement of walking speed caused by the increase in step frequency.It can therefore be concluded that the effects presented by Health Qigong Wuqinxi on the walking speeds of PD patients are constructive in nature.2.Health Qigong Wuqinxi can effectively improve the balancing ability of PD patients,especially the vestibular function of PD patients.Patients have visual dependence while maintaining their balance.3.Compared with the 6-month intervention therapy using Health Qigong Wuqinxi,the 12-month intervention therapy has better efficacy in improving the walking speed and balancing ability of PD patients.