Boxing with and without Kicking Techniques for People with Parkinson’s Disease: An Explorative Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: People with Parkinson’s disease (PD) benefit from boxing exercise. Adding kicking variations to the boxing may provide additional benefit to improve balance. However, the benefits and adherence to such trainings is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility, safety, and benefits on balance of boxing training combined with kicking techniques in comparison to boxing without kicking in PD. METHODS: Participants were randomized to group-based boxing training with kicking techniques (BK) or to group-based boxing alone training (BO). Both groups trained for one hour, once a week, for a period of 10 weeks. Participants were assessed at baseline and ten weeks post-intervention for difference in balance, fear of falling, balance confidence, walking ability, and quality of life. RESULTS: Twenty-nine people with PD (median age 64 years; median disease duration 5 years) participated. Both interventions were feasible and acceptable for all participants. No adverse events occurred. Most participants (BK 80%; BO 75%) were satisfied with the training. We found no significant between group difference on either the primary (Mini-BEST) or secondary outcomes. The within group comparison showed that balance improved in both groups after the intervention (BK 22.60 (2.7) to 25.33 (2.64) p = 0.02; BO 23.09 (3.44) to 25.80 (2.39); p = 0.01 on the Mini BEST test). CONCLUSION: Both types of boxing seem to be feasible and safe. Adding kicking techniques to boxing does not improve balance significantly more than boxing alone. Incorporation of kicking may be a valuable addition to the exercise therapy repertoire.