Prevention of falls in Parkinson's disease: a review of fall risk factors and the role of physical interventions

Abstract

Falls in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) are frequent and recurrent events with devastating and widespread consequences. Despite this, understanding of the predictive and explanatory value of fall risk factors, as well as the development and testing of interventions aimed at reducing falls, are in their infancy. This review focuses on fall prediction and risk factors that are potentially remediable with physical interventions. We show that falls can be predicted with high accuracy using a simple three-step clinical tool. Evidence from recently published randomized controlled trials supports the implementation of balance-challenging exercises in reducing falls. Larger scale trials utilizing technologically advanced monitoring methods will further elucidate those interventions most likely to be cost effective according to individual risk factor profiles.

Keywords: Parkinson's disease; balance; exercise; fall risk factors; falls; freezing of gait; mobility.