Parkinson’s Disease

For people living with Parkinson’s disease, motorized range-of-motion therapy can provide regular, supported movement when bradykinesia, stiffness, tremor, reduced balance, or fatigue make voluntary exercise harder. The research shown suggests that cycling-based exercise may support motor function, posture and gait, cardiovascular fitness, balance, and tremor management, with dynamic assisted cycling potentially producing greater motor-function gains than passive movement alone. Ex N’ Flex allows users to begin with passive movement when needed and contribute as able through active-assist exercise, helping maintain mobility and consistency as part of an ongoing Parkinson’s management routine alongside clinician-guided care.

	Active	Passive	Assisted Active
Motor Function	*	*	*
Balance		*
Posture & GAIT	*	*
Bradykinesia		*
Cardiovascular Fitness	*	*
Tremors		*

Key Points:

• Studies show that active motorized assistance resulted in significantly greater gains in motor function than in individuals who only received passive assistance.

Studies and White Papers

• Forced, Not Voluntary, Exercise Improves Motor Function in Parkinson’s Disease Patients. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19131578

  
  

• These findings show that dynamic cycling can improve PD motor function and that activation of proprioceptors with a high cadence but variable pattern may be important for motor improvements in PD. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4557094