Abstract
Balance deficits contribute to falls and injuries in the elderly and people with Parkinson's disease (PD). The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of a 2 week ankle strengthening and balance exercise intervention on balance assessments. It was hypothesized that participants with PD and those with generalized weakness (GW) would have improved balance testing scores and that those without PD would tend to have a greater degree of improvement. Two of the participants were diagnosed with PD and the other two met the inclusion criteria for GW. They were all over the age of 65. Subjects were sampled using convenience sampling from a local Parkinson's support group. Subjects participated in 3 exercises focused on ankle strategy training, balance, and strength. Interventions were performed 5 times a week for two weeks, each session lasting 15 minutes. Data was collected through pre and post testing using the TUG Test, ABC Scale, Sensory Organization Test, Adaptation Test, and the Limits of Stability. Trends of improvement were found for all assessments for the PD group. The GW group had improvement in all assessments except the ABC scale. There was not a consistent trend of greater improvement found in the GW group when compared to the PD group. Trends of improvement were found in the PD group for the TUG Test. Short term ankle strategy interventions appear to provide improvement in balance measures for both people with PD and GW. Results suggest people with PD may have increased reliance on visual sensory information and decreased vestibular function which was positively affected by the intervention. Long term effects and significance of data would need to be further tested by having a larger sample size and random sampling of participants.