Materials and Method: Thirty six volunteer patients with Parkinsonism syndrome were evaluated for eligibility for the current study and went through a 4-week rehabilitation program. Exclusion criteria were being at Hoehn-Yahr stages 4 or 5, having a diagnosis of major depression, a change in pharmacological treatment for Parkinsonism symptoms during the rehabilitation program, or having a diagnosis of secondary Parkinsonism syndrome. Eighteen patients were excluded in line with the above criteria. Two patients did not complete the program. Three patients were lost to follow-up 6 weeks after the end of the intervention. In the final evaluation there were13 patients. The Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, Tinetti Scale, and Timed Up&Go Test were used as assesment tools.
Results: Analyzing the changes in Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale scores, Tinetti scores, and the Timed Up&Go test revealed significant improvement in Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Part 2 (activities of daily living part) after the exercise program. Furthermore, this improvement was maintained for 6 weeks in the follow up period.
Conclusion: Even short-term exercises can provide improvement in the functional status of Parkinson patients.
Keywords : Parkinson Disease; Exercise; Rehabilitation