Physical therapy interventions to manage pain in Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review

Purpose. Pain is a common non-motor symptom in Parkinson’s disease (PD), affecting about 40% of this population. Non-drug treatments and physical exercises, including physical therapy, are recommended options to ease PD pain. However, there are gaps in the literature regarding the treatment of this symptom, as well as few clinical trials assessing possible physical therapy interventions to manage PD pain. Hence, the objective of this study was to verify and analyse the physical therapy treatments available in the literature to manage pain in PD patients. Methods. A systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), searching the PEDro, PubMed, SciELO, and Science Direct databases. Results. After applying the eligibility criteria, nine clinical trials remained, whose total sample comprised 242 individuals with PD (Hoehn and Yahr stage 1 to 4), submitted to physical therapy resources and methods such as hydrotherapy, physical therapy exercises, gait training with body weight support, electroacupuncture, and massage. Conclusions. All the articles had positive physical therapy results in treating pain in people with PD. It is concluded that land and aquatic physical therapy methods improve the levels of pain in PD patients. However, further studies are needed with larger samples, who should be followed up to verify the duration of the effects.