Visual perturbation training to reduce visual dependency in Parkinson's disease: A randomized controlled trial.

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IntroductionDecreased gait automaticity and increased visual dependency are important contributors to falls in people with Parkinson's disease. The aim of this study was to assess if visual perturbation training during treadmill walking decreases visual dependency in people with Parkinson's disease.Materials and methodsFor this randomized controlled trial 25 early-to-mid-stage people with Parkinson's disease (age 50-67y) without regular freezing of gait were randomly assigned to a visual perturbation group or treadmill training-only control group. Both groups trained 2 times per week for 6 weeks. Visual perturbation training consisted of self-paced treadmill walking with perturbations applied as rotations around the sagittal axis and medio-lateral translations of the virtual reality environment. The primary outcome was visual dependency. Secondary outcomes included steady-state spatiotemporal gait parameters (gait speed, step time/length/width/frequency, and cadence), as well as self-reported (near) falls.ResultsGroup x time interaction effects revealed that visual perturbation training significantly decreased visual dependency (p Clinical trial registrationThis study was pre-registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05690308) on 09/01/2023.

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