Power Exercises as a Risk Factor for Parkinson’s Disease

Objectives. To study links between physical status, the severity of motor impairments, and histories of power exercises of former sportsmen with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Materials and methods. A total of 20 men with PD, 10 of whom had histories of involvement in power sports for more than 5 years in their youths and 10 of whom had no such histories, took part in the study. Detailed histories were taken from all patients, particularly in relation to concomitant arterial hypertension; body mass index was determined, and hand dynamometry and the orthostatic test were performed. Motor function was assessed using the PD scale (MDS UPDRS part III). Results and conclusions. Patients with sporting histories, in contrast to non-sporting patients, were younger (57.44 ± 8.14 years vs. 66.78 ± 4.29 years, p < 0.05), and had longer durations of disease (6.56 ± 5.36 years vs. 3.60 ± 3.5 years, p < 0.05). The orthostatic reaction in former sportsmen was accompanied by an increase in diastolic arterial blood pressure (SBP), while men who had not been involved in sports had a decrease in SBP. Hypokinetic syndrome was significantly more marked in former sportsmen, where slow movements (bradykinesia) rated 3 points on the MDS UPDRS in six cases and 4 points in four. The results obtained here demonstrate that power sports prior to disease onset had a significant influence of the development and signs of PD.