Home-based Gait and Balance Training in Patients With Movement Disorders

It will be investigated separately for the two patient groups (ataxia, Parkinsons disease), whether the video-based training can lead to an improvement in gait and balance and whether the training protocols differ with regard to the desired improvement. The gait and balance variables recorded using the two standard methods (force plate, motion capturing system) will serve as the basis for assessing the training effect. Furthermore, the investigators want to analyze how the individual variables differ between the healthy subjects (from our previous study) and patients with movement disorders. Patients can also voluntarily record movement data using their own smartphone. This has the advantage that data can also be collected at home, which is more likely to reflect the everyday life of the participants. In particular, the aim is to check whether the data collected with the smartphone can also be read and analyzed in patients, despite the increased movement variability, and whether typical movement patterns and training-related changes can be recorded. Only adults will take part in the study. The aim is to assess 21 patients with cerebellar ataxia or idiopathic Parkinsons disease per group. This number is based on a power calculation with the software G\*Power 3.1.9.7 (Test family t tests, Means: Difference between two independent means (two groups)), with one-sided significance with α = 0.05, 1-β = 0.8 and a calculated effect size of 0.8. Participants in the study will be fully informed in advance about the study procedure. Participation in the study is voluntary. Participants can withdraw from the study at any time without giving reasons and without any disadvantages. A clinical diagnosis of cerebellar ataxia or idiopathic Parkinsons disease is a prerequisite for participation in the study. Participants must also be able to walk independently for 2 minutes. Exclusion criteria are other diseases with an impact on motor skills or serious primary psychiatric illnesses, current drug or alcohol dependency, consumptive illnesses or a poor general condition. There must be no increased risk of falling. Parkinsons patients should carry out the measurements on site and at home during the on-phase of the medication, approx. 2 hours after taking the medication. Patients are recruited via the special outpatient clinic for movement disorders at the Institute for Movement Disorders and Neuromodulation at the UKD / HHU Düsseldorf. The study is discontinued for the individual study participant if an increased risk of falls becomes apparent. The study as a whole will be discontinued if it becomes apparent that the risks of the study outweigh the benefits or if unforeseen complications arise during the training phase.