The Effects of Action Observation Therapy as a Rehabilitation Tool in Parkinson’s Disease Patients: A Systematic Review

Ioannis Giannakopoulos, Panagiota Karanika, Charalambos Papaxanthis and Panagiotis Tsaklis
Additional contact information
Ioannis Giannakopoulos: Biomechanics and Ergonomics Laboratory, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science (DPESS), University of Thessaly, 42100 Trikala, Greece
Panagiota Karanika: Biomechanics and Ergonomics Laboratory, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science (DPESS), University of Thessaly, 42100 Trikala, Greece
Charalambos Papaxanthis: Biomechanics and Ergonomics Laboratory, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science (DPESS), University of Thessaly, 42100 Trikala, Greece
Panagiotis Tsaklis: Biomechanics and Ergonomics Laboratory, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science (DPESS), University of Thessaly, 42100 Trikala, Greece

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-18

Abstract: During Action Observation (AO), patients observe human movements that they then try to imitate physically. Until now, few studies have investigated the effectiveness of it in Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, due to the diversity of interventions, it is unclear how the dose and characteristics can affect its efficiency. We investigated the AO protocols used in PD, by discussing the intervention features and the outcome measures in relation to their efficacy. A search was conducted through MEDLINE, Scopus, Cochrane, and WoS until November 2021, for RCTs with AO interventions. Participant’s characteristics, treatment features, outcome measures, and main results were extracted from each study. Results were gathered into a quantitative synthesis (MD and 95% CI) for each time point. Seven studies were included in the review, with 227 participants and a mean PEDro score of 6.7. These studies reported positive effects of AO in PD patients, mainly on walking ability and typical motor signs of PD like freezing of gait. However, disagreements among authors exist, mainly due to the heterogeneity of the intervention features. In overall, AO improves functional abilities and motor control in PD patients, with the intervention dose and the characteristics of the stimulus playing a decisive role in its efficacy.

Keywords: Parkinson’s disease; neurological rehabilitation; mirror neurons; action observation; motor control; systematic review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/6/3311/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/6/3311/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:6:p:3311-:d:769019

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().