Whole Body Periodic Acceleration: "Passive Exercise" for Parkinson’s disease

Marvin A. Sackner

Voluntary Professor of Medicine at Mt Sinai, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami and Emeritus Director of Medical Services, Mt Sinai Medical Center of Greater Miami

The important benefits of exercise in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases have long been recognized. However, exercise participation such as brisk walking at least 30 minutes a day for five days a week as recommended by the American Heart Association is accomplished in less than 10% of the adult American population.¹ For patients with chronic conditions such as Parkinson’s disease (PD), compliance is even lower. Patients with PD are usually elderly, often sedentary, and frail, with the afflictions of cardio-vascular and rheumatologic diseases and therefore incapable of exercising. Further, the fear of falling, freezing of gait, and impaired economy of gait (small stepping distance) associated with PD interfere with walking.^{2 3 4} Therefore, there is a place for technology that would provide similar benefits to exercise without requiring voluntary movements.