Wassom Derek J, Lyons Kelly E, Pahwa Rajesh, Liu Wen
1Department of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences; and.
Int J Neurosci. 2015;125(8):578-84. doi: 10.3109/00207454.2014.966820. Epub 2014 Oct 22.
Parkinson's disease (PD) involves a variety of motor and non-motor symptoms, several of which, including gait abnormalities and sleep disorders, are generally not adequately managed with standard therapy. This study aimed to determine the impact of Qigong as a potential complementary therapy in the management of gait and sleep-related symptoms in PD.
Seven subjects (aged 66.9 ± 8.1 years) with PD participated in a six-week Qigong exercise intervention. Pre- and post-intervention testing was performed to assess sleep quality, cognitive function, fatigue, quality of life, gait performance (stride time, stride length, double support time, and velocity), and gait variability (stride time and length variability).
Following Qigong, subjects showed improvement in some aspects of sleep quality. Fatigue remained unchanged. Gait function was improved by a significant reduction of stride time and a slight increase in stride length. Together these changes resulted in significant improvements to gait velocity. In addition, time spent in double limb support was reduced following the intervention. Overall gait variability improved significantly, particularly in the reduction of stride time variability.
These results suggest that Qigong may provide benefit for gait performance and sleep quality in PD patients. However, larger, controlled studies are required to determine the immediate and long-term benefits of Qigong for PD sleep and gait problems as well as the impact on other aspects of the disease.
帕金森病（PD）涉及多种运动和非运动症状，其中一些症状，包括步态异常和睡眠障碍，通常无法通过标准疗法得到充分治疗。本研究旨在确定气功作为一种潜在的辅助疗法对PD患者步态和睡眠相关症状管理的影响。
7名年龄为66.9±8.1岁的PD患者参加了为期六周的气功锻炼干预。在干预前后进行测试，以评估睡眠质量、认知功能、疲劳、生活质量、步态表现（步幅时间、步幅长度、双支撑时间和速度）以及步态变异性（步幅时间和长度变异性）。
进行气功锻炼后，患者在睡眠质量的某些方面有所改善。疲劳状况未变。步态功能得到改善，步幅时间显著缩短，步幅长度略有增加。这些变化共同导致步态速度显著提高。此外，干预后双下肢支撑时间减少。总体步态变异性显著改善，尤其是步幅时间变异性降低。
这些结果表明，气功可能对PD患者的步态表现和睡眠质量有益。然而，需要进行更大规模的对照研究，以确定气功对PD睡眠和步态问题的即时和长期益处以及对该疾病其他方面的影响。
