Combined Effect of Proprioceptive and Vestibular Training on Balance, Gait and Quality of Life in Patient with Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by degeneration of the dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway, leading to motor impairments. A 68-year-old male diagnosed with PD (Hoehn and Yahr stage III) presented with an 8-year history of bradykinesia, tremors, shuffling gait, stooped posture, difficulty initiating movement, and impaired activities of daily living. This case report evaluated the effects of combined proprioceptive and vestibular training on balance, gait, and quality of life. Outcome measures included the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), timed up and go (TUG) Test, functional reach test (FRT), freezing of gait questionnaire (FOG-Q), and PD Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39). Following a 6-week rehabilitation program, improvements were observed in BBS (28–35), TUG (27–20 s), FRT (13.5–16 cm), FOG-Q (21–18), and PDQ-39 (55–46), indicating enhanced balance, gait, quality of life and serves as a valuable adjunct to conventional physiotherapy targeting underlying sensorimotor integration deficits.