Brisk Walking Found To Improve Symptoms Of Parkinson’s Patients

A six-month U.S. study of 60 mild-to-moderate Parkinson’s disease patients found a simple and safe way to improve a variety of symptoms of the debilitating disease. Participants, who did not have dementia and were able to walk independently, walked for 45 minutes at moderate intensity (three miles per hour) while wearing heart rate monitors, three times a week. Brisk walking improved motor function and mood by 15 percent and attention/response control scores by 14 percent.  It reduced tiredness by 11 percent, and improved aerobic fitness and gait speed by seven percent. A test of motor function found a “clinically important” improvement of 2.8 points.