SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Movement Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1706561
A Comparative Meta-Analysis of Seven Types of Exercise-Based Physical Therapy for Gait Stabilization, Fall Risk, and Postural Control in Parkinson's Disease Patients
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Physical Education, Chengdu Sport University, Sichuan, China
- 2Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
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Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) patients commonly experience gait instability, increased fall risk, and postural impairment. While drug therapies provide partial relief, physical interventions offer safer multi-system benefits. This network meta-analysis compares seven exercise therapies for improving motor function in PD. Methods: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, and CNKI for randomized controlled trials (2008-2024). Interventions included Resistance Power Training (RPT), Aerobic Exercise (AE), Physical-Cognitive Training (PCT), Mind-Body Exercise (MBET), Tai Chi/Rhythmic Training (TCRT), Sensorimotor Training (SSMT), and Robot-Assisted Gait Training (RTRT). Primary outcomes assessed gait stabilization, fall risk, and postural control. Analysis used Stata 18.0 with random-effects models. Results: For gait stabilization, MBET ranked highest (SUCRA=83.1%) though not significantly different from RPT. TCRT significantly outperformed RPT (SMD=-2.42, -3.79 to -1.04) with moderate publication bias detected. For fall risk, RPT was most effective (SUCRA=97.4%), significantly surpassing RTRT. MBET ranked second, significantly better than PCT. For postural control, PCT ranked highest (SUCRA=92.4%), significantly superior to RTRT. MBET showed large effects over RPT (SMD=-23.50). Conclusion: Exercise modalities show distinct efficacy patterns: MBET, TCRT and SSMT benefit gait stability; RPT and MBET reduce fall risk; PCT and RTRT enhance postural control. Clinical selection should align with specific patient needs, considering moderate publication bias in gait outcomes.
Keywords: Parkinson's disease, Exercise Intervention, Gait stabilization, fall risk, Postural control
Received: 16 Sep 2025; Accepted: 21 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Guojun, Juan, Yi and Xianjie. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Cai Xianjie, caixj_scftu@163.com
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