“Physiotherapy and the Prevention of falls in Parkinson's disease: scientific evidences in literature”.

Background Many studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of physiotherapy treatments in Parkinson's Disease, by investigating its effects on physical performance and on the quality of life. However, only a few studies have focused on the prevention of falls, thus neglecting the importance of the problem for people with Parkinson's Disease. Objective To investigate the literature, looking for available evidence on the effectiveness of physiotherapy intervention concerning the prevention of falls in patients affected by Parkinson's Disease. Methods A revision of the literature through the consultation of the following data: PubMed, Cinahl, The Cochrane Collaboration. The key words used for the research in the data banks are: falls prevention Parkinson's disease, falls prevention physical therapy, rehabilitation Parkinson's disease. The selected clinical studies are Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT), cohort studies and revisions in English, Italian and Polish, published between 2000 and 2010. Results Out of the 55 studies found, 9 have been analyzed: 6 Randomized Controlled Trials, classified by PEDro Scale, 2 observational studies and 1 pilot study. Conclusions The number of falls can be greatly reduced by physiotherapy treatment and preventive education, leading to an increase in mobility and a decrease in the fear of falling. No evidence was found regarding the prevalence of one therapy over the others; nevertheless, the results attained so far represent a boost for further research.