Effect of Sensory Electrical Stimulation on Resting Tremors in Patients with Parkinson's Disease

Abstract

Background: The most significant type of tremors in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the resting tremor (RT). There are many ways to decrease the intensity of the tremors like weight bearing exercise, general strengthening exercise and functional electrical muscle stimulation.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of sensory electrical stimulation on resting tremors in Parkinson's patients.

Subjects and methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted on 30 patients with PD with static tremors, selected from the clinic of movement disorders, Cairo University. Their age ranged from 45-60 years. They were distributed randomly into two equal groups; the group A (study group), who received sensory stimulation plus physiotherapy session in the form of active exercises and weight bearing training (selected physiotherapy program), three times per week for four weeks, and the group B control group, who received the same selected physiotherapy program, three times a week for four weeks. The outcome measures were the Fahn-Tolosa- marine clinical rating scale to measure hand tremor severity, Acquisition System (accelerator) to measure frequency of the tremors.

Results: Within-group changes: In Group A, the reduction in tremor frequency from pre-treatment to post-treatment was highly significant (P-value < 0.001). Similarly, Group B also showed a significant change (P-value < 0.001). There was no change across groups before treatment; but, after treatment both groups indicated significant improvement, but group A indicated considerable improvements than group B.

Conclusion: According to the study’s findings, it could be summarized that sensory electri-cal stimulation combined with selected physical therapy program is effective in decreasing the frequency and severity of the tremors in patient with PD with resting tremors.