RESUMO
The aim of this study was to determine the impact of aging and Parkinson's disease (PD) on lower limb muscle strength before and after muscle fatigue. One hundred thirty-five individuals were distributed over seven groups according to their age (20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 years old) and disease. Participants performed maximum voluntary isometric contractions (MVIC) in a leg press device followed by the muscle fatigue protocol (repeated sit-to-stand task). Immediately after muscle fatigue (less than 2 min), the MVIC were repeated. The peak force, peak rate of force development (first 50, 100, 200 ms), and root mean square and peak values of the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis muscle activity during MVIC were calculated before and after muscle fatigue. We found more pronounced reductions in lower limb muscle strength parameters (lower limb force, RFD-100 and RFD-200 - p<0.05) in individuals over 50 years of age and with PD. In addition, there was an inverse relation between aging and lower limb muscle strength parameters. The main findings were the lack of changes in peak force, RFDs and muscle activity of the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis after muscle fatigue according to aging and PD, and similar lower limb muscle strength parameters (before and after muscle fatigue) and effect of muscle fatigue in PD compared to the aged groups (60 and 70 years old groups).
RESUMO
This pilot study aimed to identify the effects of a 6-month, multimodal exercise program on clinical and gait parameters in patients with Parkinson's disease. Two groups of participants were enrolled in the study: Trained Group (TG) and Control Group (CG). Individuals in the TG exercised three times a week for 24 weeks (in a multimodal exercise program), while the CG participants maintained their regular activity level. Participants in both the TG and the CG were assessed at pre- and posttest by clinical rates and the spatiotemporal parameters of self-paced walking. The two groups were not significantly different in demographic, clinical, and gait data at baseline. There were no significant differences between groups for clinical data at posttest. The purposed multimodal exercise program has found improvement in some kinematic gait parameters for the TG. Further study in the form of randomized controlled trial would be required to establish effectiveness of the intervention.