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Square-stepping exercises for balance and thinking

This study tests stepping patterns on a marked mat to investigate balance and thinking skills in Parkinson's.

Testing a treatment or activity · Study reference: TCTR20180111003

Plain-language introduction written with AI from the registry; not independently checked by a clinician. Read the original details below ↓

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Start (reported date)
2018-03-12
Study finished (reported date)
2019-02-26

Planned dates can move. A study finishing does not tell us when a paper will be published.

No results summary has been confirmed in the registry records we imported. See connected papers below; we keep checking after recruitment ends.

Changes we have recorded
  • 2026-10-11 — recruiting

These are dates we observed a change, not necessarily the dates it happened.

Papers connected to this study

No connected paper has been found yet. The tracker checks the growing library for study identifiers and registry-linked publications.

Who can join?

Ages 50 years to 85 years · Ask the team who can join

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Read all the rules for taking part

Sex eligibility reported by registry: both

Inclusion criteria: diagnosed idiopathic PD according to the United Kingdom Brain Bank Criteria with Hoehn and Yahr stages 1 – 3,aged at least 50 years of old, stable on anti-PD medications, and could walk 10m with or without any walking assist Exclusion criteria: -musculoskeletal or cardiopulmonary disorders -undergone neurosurgery -neurologic conditions other than PD -showed cognitive deficits on the Mini-Mental State Examination (<24) -joined another exercise program in the previous 3 months -met the criteria for exclusion for the use of TMS (i.e. metal implants, cardiac pacemaker, history of epilepsy, previous brain injury, actively taking antidepressant drugs)
Full study name & original research details

Official study title

Effects of the Square-Stepping Exercise on Corticomotor Excitability, Balance and Cognition in Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease

Original description

Intervention: SSE will be performed on a thin mat of 250 cm by 100 cm, partitioned into 40 small squares (25 cm each side). The SSE program includes forward, backward, lateral and oblique steps, and step patterns will be progressively made more complicated. All subjects of SSE group will be instructed to walk on the mat with the step pattern provided. When the subjects reach the end of the mat, they will be instructed to return to their start positions by normal walking off the mat and then repeat 5 times each step pattern. After the subjects become familiar with each of these step patterns and can complete the pattern smoothly, they can progress to a new step pattern. If participants can’t step a pattern smoothly, they will be asked to repeat it until it is accomplished. In addition, there are some rules of SSE program that subjects will be asked to follow (a) in case of a mistake, don’t need to restart; (b) do not place both feet in the same square; (c) walk with heels lifted, do not step on the mat’s frame line. -Dose: 16 x 60 minutes sessions, twice/ week for 8 weeks. Each training session will begin with a 10-minute warm-up followed by 40 minutes SSE training and will end with a 10-minute cool-down.,Participants in the control group will receive trunk and upper limb training. The protocol consists of postural reeducation, trunk muscles stretching, upper limbs strengthening and dexterity training. -Dose: the same dose as SSE. 16 x 60 minutes sessions, twice/ week for 8 weeks;Experimental Other,Active Comparator Other;Square-Stepping Exercise group (SSE),Control group Primary outcome: Cortical excitability measured before the training, after the training and one-month follow-up measured by transcranial magnetic stimulation(TMS) using a double-cone coil Secondary outcome: Balance measured before the training, after the training and one-month follow-up assessed by using the Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Mini-BESTest),Cognition measured before the training, after the training and one-month follow-up measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA),Cognition measured before the training, after the training and one-month follow-up measured by the Chinese version of Trail Making Test (TMT) ,Cognition measured before the training, after the training and one-month follow-up measured by the Digit Span Task (DST),Quality of life measured before the training, after the training and one-month follow-up measured by the Chinese version of the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39)

Conditions reported: Parkinson's Disease Parkinson’s disease Transcranial magnetic stimulation Square-stepping exercise Corticomotor excitability Balance Cognition;Parkinson’s disease Transcranial magnetic stimulation Square-stepping exercise Corticomotor excitability Balance Cognition

Registry records for this study

Records are joined using registration identifiers. Titles alone do not establish that two studies are the same.

Study type
Interventional
Interventions
SSE will be performed on a thin mat of 250 cm by 100 cm, partitioned into 40 small squares (25 cm each side). The SSE program includes forward, backward, lateral and oblique steps, and step patterns will be progressively made more complicated. All subjects of SSE group will be instructed to walk on the mat with the step pattern provided. When the subjects reach the end of the mat, they will be instructed to return to their start positions by normal walking off the mat and then repeat 5 times each step pattern. After the subjects become familiar with each of these step patterns and can complete the pattern smoothly, they can progress to a new step pattern. If participants can’t step a pattern smoothly, they will be asked to repeat it until it is accomplished. In addition, there are some rules of SSE program that subjects will be asked to follow (a) in case of a mistake, don’t need to restart; (b) do not place both feet in the same square; (c) walk with heels lifted, do not step on the mat’s frame line. -Dose: 16 x 60 minutes sessions, twice/ week for 8 weeks. Each training session will begin with a 10-minute warm-up followed by 40 minutes SSE training and will end with a 10-minute cool-down.,Participants in the control group will receive trunk and upper limb training. The protocol consists of postural reeducation, trunk muscles stretching, upper limbs strengthening and dexterity training. -Dose: the same dose as SSE. 16 x 60 minutes sessions, twice/ week for 8 weeks;Experimental Other,Active Comparator Other;Square-Stepping Exercise group (SSE),Control group
Phases
N/A
Sponsor
National Yang Ming University Department of Physical Therapy and Assistive
Start date reported by registry
2018-03-12 (reported)

Registry updated: Not reported · Status last verified by the registry submitter: Not reported

Registry records retrieved 2026-10-13 (UTC). Individual records may have older updates. Recruitment and eligibility must be confirmed with the study team.

Contact the research team

Public study contacts supplied to the registry. Ask whether recruitment is still open and what participation involves.

Yea-Ru Yang · +886228267279 · yryang@ym.edu.tw

Study locations

Site status can differ from overall study status. “Status not reported” means local availability needs confirmation. Remote participation and travel arrangements must be checked with the team.

Facility not reported

Taiwan (ROC)

Status not reported

The original descriptions and participation rules come from the registry. Participation is voluntary and does not guarantee benefit.