Mental practice after physiotherapy maintains functional mobility of people with Parkinson’s disease

ABSTRACT The objective of the study was to evaluate the use of mental practice after motor physiotherapy to maintain the effects obtained in functional mobility of people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). This randomized, controlled, single-blind trial included 14 subjects in stages 1 to 3 (Hoehn & Yahr), aged 45-72 years. After the initial evaluation with Timed Up & Go (TUG), Dynamic Gait Index (DGI) and Falls Efficacy Scale International Brazil (FES-I Brazil), the subjects performed 15 sessions of motor physical therapy. They were reevaluated and randomly divided into Control Group (CG) and Mental Practice Group (MPG). After the allocation, MPG underwent 10 sessions of mental practice associated with home exercise guidelines. CG was instructed to perform the home exercises only. The groups were then reevaluated. It was verified that MPG continued presenting a reduction in mean TUG time in the second reevaluation (p=0.05). In the second DGI reevaluation, MPG maintained the same mean score of the first reevaluation and CG presented a decrease in the mean. There were no significant differences in the intergroup comparison of FES-I Brazil scores. Mental practice was able to maintain the gains in functional mobility of patients with PD obtained through physiotherapy.