Mental Practice in Parkinson's Disease
Mental Practice in Parkinson's Disease
Introduction Although drug therapy is the mainstay of treatment for Parkinson's disease, the
 therapy also has its importance by means of exercises which maintains the muscular activity
 and preserve mobility. One of the techniques that has been used for physical therapy is the
 mental practice of the mental simulation of movement, aiming at learning or improvement of
 motor skills through the cortex areas of activation responsible for the movement of
 preparation before it is executed. In patients with Parkinson's disease motor anticipation
 this system is compromised, culminating in the march changes and increased risk of falls.
 Objective: To evaluate the effects of mental practice on physical therapy on the march and
 the risk of falls in people with Parkinson's disease. Method: The study is defined as a
 randomized clinical trial with systematic recruitment. Recruitment will be conducted at the
 Clinic of Neurology, Hospital das clinics Federal University of Pernambuco (Pro-Parkinson
 Project: Neurology) and the intervention will be held at the same hospital physiotherapy
 clinic. Both the control group and the trial will be subjected to 15 therapy sessions twice a
 week, lasting 40 minutes for physical therapy and 15 for mental practice.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Patients with clinical diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease

 -  Male and female

 -  Stage 1-3 of the Hoehn and Yahr scale.

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Have other neurological diseases

 -  They have decompensated systemic diseases

 -  Musculoskeletal changes that prevent the achievement of movements

 -  With lowering of the cognitive level assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination
 with cutoff point according to education

 -  With respiratory impairment

 -  With medical restrictions for performing exercises

 -  Do not get hold motor imagination during the application of Visual and Kinesthetic
 Imagery Questionnaire-10

 -  In physical therapy, occupational therapy service for 3 months or more;

 -  Patients with moderate to severe depression assessed by inventory Beck Depression
 Inventory