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. 2021 Mar 29:2021:8833736.
doi: 10.1155/2021/8833736. eCollection 2021.

The Feasibility and Positive Effects of Wuqinxi Exercise on the Cognitive and Motor Functions of Patients with Parkinson's Disease: A Pilot Study

Mengyue Shen  1 , Yan-Ling Pi  2 , Zhenlan Li  3 , Tao Song  3 , Kuncheng Jie  1 , Tian Wang  3 , Wei Guo  1 , Jie Zhuang  3 , Zhen Wang  1
Affiliations

The Feasibility and Positive Effects of Wuqinxi Exercise on the Cognitive and Motor Functions of Patients with Parkinson's Disease: A Pilot Study

Mengyue Shen et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. .

Abstract

Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system common in middle-aged and elderly people, which has a serious impact on patients' cognitive and motor functions. Exercise can improve the nonmotor symptoms of PD patients, but the optimal type of exercise for the cognitive function of patients is unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study is the impact of 12 weeks of Wuqinxi exercise on the cognitive and motor function in PD patients.

Methods: Thirty PD patients participated in the study and were randomly assigned to two groups: Wuqinxi group (n = 15) or stretching group (n = 15). All the participants performed a 12-week exercise program twice a week, 90 min/session. The assessments were conducted before and after exercise intervention, included cognitive function (frontal assessment battery (FAB); Stroop test I and II), motor functions (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Part III (UPDRS-III); timed up and go (TUG)).

Results: We found the FAB and Stroop I scores were significantly higher in the Wuqinxi group than in the stretching group. Participants in the Wuqinxi group significantly improved their UPDRS-III (17.73 ± 9.88) and TUG (10.50 ± 1.79) score after 12 weeks of training intervention.

Conclusion: The results show that the use of Wuqinxi for rehabilitation therapy for cognition is feasible, widely accepted, and effective in patients with Parkinson's disease. This study provides preliminary evidence for further large-scale and controlled studies.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Illustrations of Wuqinxi exercise maneuvers. The agreement includes ten actions such as tiger raising, tiger seizing, deer colliding, deer running, bear swaying, bear rubbing, ape being alert, ape plunking, bird stretching, and bird flying.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Patient flow diagram.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Changes in cognitive function after 12 weeks of intervention. (a) ST-I, part I of the Stroop test. (b) ST-II, part II of the Stroop test. (c) FAB, the frontal assessment battery. (d) MoCA, Montreal Cognitive Assessment. ∗P < 0.05 for the indicated comparisons.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Changes in motor function after 12 weeks of intervention. (a) UPDRS-III, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III. (b) TUG, the timed up and go. ∗P < 0.05 for the indicated comparisons.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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