Sport climbing feasible, beneficial in Parkinson’s disease

A sport climbing course is feasible in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), helping improve motor symptoms even in those without prior climbing experience, as shown in a study.

Forty-eight PD patients (average age 64 years, Hoehn & Yahr stage 2–3) were randomized to participate in a sport climbing course (intervention) or to attend an unsupervised physical training (control) for 12 weeks.

The intervention comprised a weekly 90-minute top-rope sport climbing course in an indoor gym with an instructor-to-participant ratio of 1:3–4. The participants trained with a belayer (ie, a person securing the rope holding the climber). On the other hand, the control involved an individual session of basic education based on recommendations for physical activity. This included a weekly 150-minute moderate or 75-minute of vigorous aerobic physical activities, resistance training twice a week, and balance exercises thrice a week. Control participants were given instructions to follow the given recommendations independently and without supervision.

At week 12, the primary outcome of Movement Disorder Society-Sponsored Revision of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale part III (MDS-UPDRS-III) significantly decreased with sport climbing (−12.9 points, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], −15.9 to −9.8), while there was no significant change seen with unsupervised training (−3.0 points, 95 percent CI, −6.0 to 0.1).

Parallel improvements were observed in bradykinesia, rigidity, and tremor subscales in the intervention group but not in the control group.

The intervention was feasible, with 99 percent of the participants attending climbing sessions and a dropout rate of only 8 percent. There were no adverse events documented.