Rehabilitation for Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review of Available Evidence
Clinical Rehabilitation
Gage, H., & Storey, L. (2004).
Clinical Rehabilitation, 18(5), 463-482.
This systemtic review investigates the effects of nonpharmacological rehabilitation interventions in adults with Parkinson's disease. Ten of the 44 included studies pertain to speech and language treatment, five of which targeted dysarthria treatments.
44 studies; 10 of which related to speech and language therapy
<div>Individuals with Parkinson's disease demonstrated improved communication skills after speech, language, or voice intervention. Specific improvements were seen in the areas of:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>vocal intensity;</li>
<li>prosody;</li>
<li>voice quality;</li>
<li>articulation and intelligibility;</li>
<li>fluency in conversation; and </li>
<li>communicative use of facial expression.</li>
</ul>
<div>While the authors suggest that a number of treatments were helpful, "there is little evidence to suggest which approaches are superior" (p. 476).</div>
</div>
<div>Dysphagia treatment led to improved swallowing outcomes via "subjective reporting and use of technologies" (p. 465). While the authors suggest that a number of treatments were helpful, "there is little evidence to suggest which approaches are superior" (p. 476).</div>
