Remote Mental Practice for Freezing of Gait in Parkinson's Disease

Summary

This single-blind, randomized controlled trial investigates the effects of a remotely delivered intervention based on mental practice (MP) combined with physical practice (PP) on freezing of gait (FOG) severity in people with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). Fifty participants will be randomly assigned to either the experimental group (MP + PP) or a control group (PP + stretching). The intervention consists of 10 video-supervised sessions over 6 weeks. Primary outcomes include the Rapid Turn Test and percentage of time spent with FOG (%FOG). Secondary outcomes include the New Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (NFOG-Q), Movement Disorders Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39), and Telephone Montreal Cognitive Assessment (T-MoCA). The study aims to demonstrate whether MP using Dynamic Neuro-Cognitive Imagery (DNI) techniques can effectively reduce FOG severity and improve motor and cognitive function in people with PD.

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

* Clinical diagnosis of idiopathic PD;
* Use of dopaminergic medication;
* Experiencing FOG (positive response to the first question of the New Freezing of Gait Questionnaire - NFOG-Q);
* Able to walk independently at home;
* Access to internet and video call device;
* Agree to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Other neurological disorders;
* Severe cardiovascular and/or respiratory alterations;
* Uncorrected visual and/or auditory alterations;
* Cognitive impairment, detectable through the Telephone Montreal Cognitive Assessment (T-MoCA, \< 12);
* Inability to perform motor imageryT during the administration of the Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire - 20 (KVIQ-20, \< 20)

Conditions3

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