The effects of Baduanjin on fine motor skills in mild and moderate Parkinson's disease: A randomized controlled trial


Author: Ke-Fan Li1, Jun Li1,2, A-Long Xia1, Xiao-Wei Wang1, Ai-Ling Wang1, Ying Shi1, Huai-Zhen Chen1,2

Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hefei, China.

<sup>2</sup> Anhui Branch Center of National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Hefei, China.
Conference/Journal: Clin Park Relat Disord
Date published: 2024 Oct 16
Other:
 Volume ID: 11   ,  Pages: 100276   ,  Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.prdoa.2024.100276.   ,  Word Count: 263  
    Background:

Fine motor impairment is common in Parkinson's disease (PD), which reduces patients' quality of life. There are few suitable targeted treatments. We conducted a clinical trial to determine whether Baduanjin Qigong exercise would increase fine motor skills in PD patients.



Methods:

Sixty PD patients (Hoehn-Yahr stage 1-4) with hand fine motor impairment were randomly assigned to the Baduanjin group and the physical activity group. Baduanjin group practiced Baduanjin exercise five times weekly for 40 min (warm-up 5 min, Baduanjin 30 min, cool-down 5 min). The usual physical activity groups maintained their habit of usual physical activities. The participants underwent assessments in the "ON" medication state at baseline and 4-week follow-up time points. The Purdue Pegboard Test (PPT) was used as the primary outcome to assess manual dexterity. The secondary outcomes included the Movement Disorders Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, part III (MDS-UPDRS III), and the Parkinson's disease questionnaire (PDQ-39).



Results:

The results of PPT revealed the Baduanjin group showed statistically significant improvement in the "non-dominant hand" and "assembly" scores compared to the usual physical activity group (P < 0.05), but with no significant difference in "dominant hand" and "both hands" (P > 0.05). Additionally, the Baduanjin group showed better performance in the PDQ-39 (P < 0.05).



Conclusion:

Our study concludes that a 4-week Baduanjin exercise is effective in improving fine motor function and quality of life in patients with mild and moderate PD. The results suggest a promising intervention to be implemented in community or home settings for managing fine motor impairment in PD.



Keywords: Baduanjin; Dexterity; Fine motor; Parkinson’s disease; Qigong.



PMID: 39502276 PMCID: PMC11535373 DOI: 10.1016/j.prdoa.2024.100276