Walking to a beat could help Parkinson's patients

PITTSBURGH – University of Pittsburgh researchers have found that walking to a beat could be useful for patients needing rehabilitation. The study was published in the August issue of PLoS ONE, and demonstrates that researchers should further investigate the potential of rhythmic cues in the rehabilitation of patients with Parkinson’s disease.

The study involved healthy participants that used audio, tactile, and visual cues to deliver a constant beat from a metronome. A belt-worn accelerometer and a sensor in the shoes were used to analyze the walking of the individuals while under each separate type of cue, none at all, and all together.

“We found that the auditory cue had the greatest influence on human gait, while the visual cues had no significant effect whatsoever,” said Ervin Sejdic, assistant professor of engineering at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. “This finding could be particularly helpful for patients with Parkinson’s disease, for example, as auditory cues work very well in their rehabilitation.