Journal Article

Neuromotor rehabilitation in Parkinsonian syndromes: outcomes and disability after hip fracture

Perego, Sabrina, Ambrosi, Ferdinando, Demontis, Alessandra, Huci, Emanuela Monica, Concardi, Gianluca, Sanavia, Luca, Scamarcia, Pietro Giuseppe, Vulpio, Laura

2025

Overview

Background Patients with Parkinsonian syndromes, including Parkinson’s disease (PD) and atypical parkinsonism (AP), are at increased risk of disability following hip fracture. Limited data are available on their functional recovery after inpatient rehabilitation. This study aimed to compare rehabilitation outcomes in patients with parkinsonism versus non-parkinsonian controls after hip fracture surgery and to identify clinical predictors of worse recovery within the parkinsonian group. Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 60 patients with parkinsonism (45 PD, 15 AP) and 60 age- and sex-matched non-parkinsonian controls undergoing inpatient rehabilitation after hip fracture surgery. Functional status was assessed at admission and discharge using the Modified Barthel Index (MBI) and modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Linear mixed-effects models were applied to explore associations between clinical variables (including diagnosis, dementia, dysphagia, postural instability) and outcomes. Results Patients with parkinsonism had significantly lower functional scores at both admission and discharge as compared to controls ( p  < 0.001), with AP patients performing worse than PD patients ( p  = 0.02). Among parkinsonian individuals, dementia, dysphagia, and postural instability were independently associated with worse outcomes ( p  < 0.001). Although MBI change scores (delta-MBI) did not differ significantly between groups, mRS change (delta-mRS) was greater in controls, suggesting that parkinsonian patients experienced a higher overall disability burden at both admission and discharge, despite a smaller relative improvement. These findings indicate that non-motor symptoms substantially influence rehabilitation trajectories and should be considered in planning care. Conclusions Parkinsonian patients, particularly those with atypical parkinsonism, experience worse functional outcomes after hip fracture rehabilitation when compared with non-parkinsonian individuals. The presence of dementia, dysphagia, and postural instability further impairs recovery.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Age / Aged / Aged, 80 and over / Atypical parkinsonism / Biomedicine / Case-Control Studies / Deglutition disorders / Dementia / Diabetes / Disability / Dysphagia / Female / Fractures / Functional Status / Gait / Hip fracture / Hip Fractures - complications / Hip Fractures - physiopathology / Hip Fractures - rehabilitation / Hip Fractures - surgery / Hip joint / Humans / Hypertension / Infectious Diseases / Internal Medicine / Male / Medical records / Medical research / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Medicine, Experimental / Motor Activity - physiology / Neurological Rehabilitation - methods / Oncology / Osteoporosis / Parkinson's disease / Parkinsonian Disorders - complications / Parkinsonian Disorders - physiopathology / Parkinsonian Disorders - rehabilitation / Patient outcomes / Patients / Posture / Posture - physiology / Recovery of Function / Rehabilitation / Retrospective Studies / Surgery / Treatment Outcome / Variables