Progressive Muscular Strength Protocol for the Functionality of Upper Limbs in Individuals with Parkinson’s disease: Protocol Study Thais Vianna Correa 1 , Vera Lúcia Santos de Britto 2 and Clynton Lourenço Correa 1,2* 1 Program of Physical Education, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2 Physical Therapy Course, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil * Corresponding author: Dr. Clynton Lourenço Correa, Laboratório de Neurobiologia Comparativa e do Desenvolvimento, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tel: 55-21-995226017; E-mail: clyntoncorrea@hucff.ufrj.br Received date: October 31, 2017; Accepted date: November 16, 2017; Published date: November 22, 2017 Copyright: © 2017 Correa TV, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract Background: There is a lack understanding between the possible effects of physical intervention in motor function of the upper limbs and quality of life in patients with PD. Objective: To present a progressive muscular strengthening protocol of the upper limbs with focus on the functional capacity. Methods: The sample has been chosen for convenience. The patients have been divided into two groups: Intervention and Control which have not been distributed randomly. The following instruments have been chosen to be evaluating results: Unified Parkinson Disease Rate Scale, Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire, Nine Hole Peg Test, Test d'Evaluation des Membres Superieurs of Personnes Âgées and handgrip dynamometer. All these instruments have to be applied before and after the training phase which is for 2 months, twice a week and follow up period for one month after the last training session. For demographic characteristics of the sample, descriptive statistics have to be used. The Shapiro-Wilk test has to examine the normality of the sample. Parametric or non- parametric tests have to be performed to check if there is a significant statistical difference between pre- and post- training and follow-up, as correlation tests, pre- and post-training. The significance level of 5% for all procedures have to be adopted. Results: The strength training has to combine isotonic and isometric exercises using elastic tubes for upper limbs. The program has to be carried out for two months, totalizing 16 sessions. Five subjects in each group started the program, but have not yet finished. Results are expected in 2018. Discussion: Most studies on muscle weakness in PD focus on the evaluation aspect. Cover mainly studies of physical rehabilitation the lower limbs, and focus on gait and balance. Therefore, it is important to carry out studies that investigate the possible effects of a progressive muscular strengthening protocol in upper limbs in PD patients. Keywords: Parkinson’s disease; Physical therapy (modalities); Upper limbs; Strengthening; Rehabilitation; Disability evaluation; Exercise therapy Introduction Parkinson’s disease (PD) is primarily a neurodegenerative disorder afecting the motor control. More precisely in the substantia nigra pars compacta compromising the nigrostriatal pathway where the motor symptoms are caused by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons that participate [1-3]. Diagnosis of PD is predominantly based on clinical features and the diagnostic criteria. Te most widely accepted in the world are those that comprise the UK Parkinson’s Disease Society Brain Bank. Tese are: rigidity, bradykinesia, resting tremor, postural instability and gait disorders [4,5]. Moreover, the Movement Disorders Society has included non-motor symptoms as clinical manifestations of PD [5]. In the literature, some authors have been discussing the presence of muscle weakness as an intrinsic symptom of PD or a secondary symptom due to disuse [6-8]. PD produces deterioration of the motor function over the course of the disease, which results in an increase in the number, and severity of symptoms. Te motor symptoms progressively produce more restrictions and reduction in dependency of activities of daily living (ADLs). Tus causing a worsening in quality of life [9-12]. Some authors have been pointing out the possible origin of the muscle weakness in PD in comparative studies with control group matched with age and gender [13-16]. Studies on physical rehabilitation in PD mostly highlight lower limbs, gait and balance impairments [17-22]. Tose that focus on upper limbs are, in its majority, evaluate mostly aspects in either coordination, strength, power, bradykinesia or functionality [6,14,16,23-25]. Tere are only three studies focused on the efects of some type of muscle strengthening in the upper limbs. None, however, about functionality [26-28]. Terefore, there is a lack of understanding between possible efects of the physical rehabilitation in upper limbs of PD patients. I n t e r n a t i o n a l J o u r n a l o f P h y s i c a l M e d i c i n e & R e h a b i li t a ti o n ISSN: 2329-9096 International Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Correa et al., Int J Phys Med Rehabil 2017, 5:6 DOI: 10.4172/2329-9096.1000436 Protocol Article Open Access Int J Phys Med Rehabil, an open access journal ISSN:2329-9096 Volume 5 • Issue 6 • 1000436