Repetitive stepping in place identifies and measures freezing episodes in subjects with Parkinson's disease (original) (raw)

Freezing of gait (FOG) in Parkinson's disease (PD) poses challenges for measurement and treatment. This study investigates whether a repetitive stepping in place (SIP) task can effectively identify freezing episodes (FEs) in PD subjects, validated against the FOG questionnaire (FOG-Q). Thirty PD subjects and nine controls participated, revealing a strong correlation (r = 0.80, P < 0.001) between SIP and FOG-Q identification, with a detection specificity of 93% and sensitivity of 87%. SIP analysis indicated that PD patients exhibiting FEs had increased asymmetry and arhythmicity, aligning with prior FOG literature. These findings suggest that SIP is a robust tool for detecting FEs in PD.