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Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. Therapies that address motor dysfunction are pharmacological therapy, surgical procedures, and physical therapy. Neuromuscular therapy (NMT), a form of massage therapy, is a well-established complementary and alternative medicine modality; however, it has not yet been studied in PD. The purpose of this study was to determine whether NMT could improve motor symptoms and quality of life of patients with PD. More specifically, the study was designed to determine if NMT could decrease rigidity, tremor, and bradykinesia and increase locomotion and fine motor skills. It was also designed to determine if NMT could decrease depression and anxiety.

Methodology: Thirty-two subjects with PD were randomized to either NMT or music relaxation therapy (active control). Subjects received treatment twice a week for 4 weeks. Testing was conducted at baseline, following the final treatment, and 8 days after the final treatment. Testing measures included the United Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Purdue Pegboard, finger-tapping test, Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI), Beck Depression Inventory, and Beck Anxiety Inventory. The primary outcome measures were the motor subscale of the UPDRS (Part C) and the CGI.

Results: NMT resulted in a significant improvement in the UPDRS Part C (motor subscale) (F[1,30] = 6.53, P <.05) in comparison to the music relaxation group, which had little change. The NMT group showed improvement in CGI scores (1.14±0.9 [P<.05]) that was not retained a week after the therapy sessions ended (0.53±0.7, P=NS). Music relaxation had no effect on CGI scores (0.22±0.4, P=NS).

Conclusions: The findings indicate that NMT can improve motor symptoms in PD. Future studies should examine whether the beneficial effects can be sustained past 5 weeks or with less frequent NMT, thus making treatment more affordable.

Atlanta School of Massage and Emory University Medical School, Department of Neurology, Atlanta, Ga

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This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Svircev, A. Articles by Juncos, J. L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Svircev, A. Articles by Juncos, J. L.