Tandem cycling may improve the health and well-being of people with Parkinson’s, according to a new study.
Pedaling on a bicycle built for two people can also be beneficial for the patient’s carer, particularly in terms of mental and emotional resilience.
The new findings have offered new potential avenues for improving the quality of life both for people suffering from the complex neurodegenerative condition and for those around them.
Researchers from the University of South Carolina in the US studied 18 participants—nine with Parkinson’s and nine care partners—as they took part in a tandem cycling program over two months.
The pairs exercised on stationary tandem bicycles indoors twice a week while also using a virtual reality platform which allowed them to visualize themselves cycling along scenic, real-life, outdoor routes.
Results, which will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 76th Annual Meeting, showed that the participants with Parkinson’s had improved overall function after the program.
This included improved mobility and walking speed, and decreased disease progression and disease burden.
They also reported ‘fewer difficulties in daily living,’ with an average five-point drop recorded when it came to a test measuring challenges around relationships, communication, and social situations or interactions.
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For carers, an improvement in resilience was noted, with more people indicating ‘stronger’ responses to resilience questionnaires than those completed before the program.
This meant more people answered questions about challenges with positive answers such as ‘I usually come through difficult times with little trouble’ and ‘I tend to bounce back quickly after hard times’.
This group also demonstrated a decrease in depression, which the research team believes could help reduce ‘the care partner burden’.
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“Our study found that a unique cycling program that pairs people with Parkinson’s disease with their care partners can improve the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of both cyclists to improve their quality of life,” said corresponding author Dr. Jennifer Trilk.
“It is just as important that care partners also receive care, so that is why we included them as the cycling partner.”
She noted that the initial study was small and so in the future the team will look to use larger test groups to confirm their findings.
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