A review of 10 studies looked at how physiotherapy helps people with Parkinson's disease who have already undergone a specific type of brain surgery called bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (DBS-STN). The goal was to see if physical therapy could improve motor symptoms after the procedure.
The review found that patients consistently showed improvements in balance, postural stability, walking speed, and functional mobility. While these physical improvements were consistent, other areas like motor severity scores, cognitive effects, and neurophysiological effects were not well studied in the current research.
Physiotherapy is considered a potentially safe addition to managing motor symptoms after this surgery. However, the evidence is limited because the different programs used were not standardized and many measurements were not uniform. Because the research is limited, patients should talk to their doctors to see how these findings apply to their specific care plan.
