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. 2019 Jun 6;6(6):446-451.
doi: 10.1002/mdc3.12784. eCollection 2019 Jul.

Lower Limb Rigidity Is Associated with Frequent Falls in Parkinson's Disease

J Lucas McKay  1 , Madeleine E Hackney  2   3 , Stewart A Factor  4 , Lena H Ting  1   5
Affiliations

Lower Limb Rigidity Is Associated with Frequent Falls in Parkinson's Disease

J Lucas McKay et al. Mov Disord Clin Pract. .

Abstract

Background and objective: The role of muscle rigidity as an etiological factor of falls in Parkinson's disease (PD) is poorly understood. Our objective was to determine whether lower leg rigidity was differentially associated with frequent falls in PD compared to upper limb, neck, and total rigidity measures.

Methods: We examined the associations between Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale-Part III (motor) rigidity subscores and the history of monthly or more frequent falls in 216 individuals with PD (age, 66 ± 10 years; 36% female; disease duration, 7 ± 5 years) with logistic regression.

Results: A total of 35 individuals were frequent fallers. Significant associations were identified between lower limb rigidity and frequent falls (P = 0.01) after controlling for age, sex, PD duration, total Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale- Part III score, and presence of freezing of gait. No significant associations (P ≥ 0.14) were identified for total, arm, or neck rigidity.

Conclusion: Lower limb rigidity is related to frequent falls in people with PD. Further investigation may be warranted into how parkinsonian rigidity could cause falls.

Keywords: accidental falls; balance; cognitive impairment; freezing of gait.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Associations between rigidity and falls. (A) Differences in rigidity subscores between patients with Parkinson's disease with and without histories of monthly or more frequent falls. (B) Associations between rigidity subscores and fall history (expressed as odds ratio ± 95% confidence interval) after adjusting for age, sex, total Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale‐III, Parkinson's disease duration, and presence of freezing of gait.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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