Effect of Lee Silverman Voice Treatment BIG and Conventional Physiotherapy on Motor Symptoms among Patients with Parkinson's Disease: A Randomized Clinical Trial
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61581/mjsp.v7i03.396Keywords:
Conventional physiotherapy, LSVT BIG, MDS-UPDRS Part III, Motor symptoms, Parkinson's disease, RehabilitationAbstract
Objective: The aim was to compare the impact of Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) BIG with standard physiotherapy on motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD).
Methodology: This Randomized clinical trial was conducted at Ibn-e-Sina Hospital & Research Institute and Barki Complex, Multan, over four months from 2nd May 2026 to 31 August 2026. Thirty-six patients with PD (Hoehn and Yahr stage I–III), aged 35–75 years were recruited by purposive sampling. They were randomly assigned to either Group A or Group B. The two groups were exposed to one hour sessions of sixteen supervised treatment per week during a 4 weeks period in an intensity matched condition. Motor function was measured using the MDS-UPDRS Part III at baseline and at week 4. Paired and independent t-tests were used in SPSS version 26 for data analysis.
Results: Total 33 participant analyzed (Group A n = 17, Group B n = 16) with mean age 62.56 ± 4.69 years and 88.9% male. Results showed that both groups had significant improvements in motor functioning after the treatment and participants in the LSVT BIG group had much higher improvement than their counterparts (conventional physiotherapy). The post intervention MDS-UPDRS Part III scores were lower in the LSVT BIG (28.88 ± 2.57) compared to the conventional physiotherapy group (39.88 ± 2.63; p < 0.001) showing that motor function improved better with LSVT BIG.
Conclusion: These results indicate that LSVT BIG compares better with standard physiotherapy as it relates to better results in improving motor functions in mild to moderate PD and its inclusion in evidence-based physiotherapy rehabilitation programs can help maximize functional outcomes and improve quality of life.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Usama Islam
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