EVALUATION OF POSTURE IMAGE IN PARKINSON´S DISEASE: A DEVELOPMENTAL STUDY

Abstract

Background: Individuals with Parkinson disease (PD) usually have altered postural that are related with the balance component (loss of postural reflexes) and postural orientation component, such as camptocormia, stooped posture, Pisa syndrome and antecollis. Objective: To develop an instrument to evaluate the posture image (PI) perception in people with PD. Methods: A developmental study, with applied nature. Results: The developed Scale was called Evaluation of Posture Image Scale – Parkinson Disease (EPIS-PD). It was considered 3 views: sagittal, with twelve drawings from the erect posture to the camptocormia; frontal, with twelve drawings from the aligned posture to Pisa syndrome; and sagittal of the head, with six drawings from the aligned posture, to the rectification, until antecollis. The drawings were numbered from 1 to 6, where 1 represented the greater deformity and 6 represented absence of deformity, considering the perception of deformity as absence, mild, moderate and severe. Conclusion: The scale developed in this study, EPIS-PD, included the drawings created to represent progressively the specific postural alterations in PD to detect the level of the altered perception of PI related to these deformities. PI alteration can cause impact in the balance, gait quality and corporal movement quality. Future researches need to be done to evaluate the validation and reliability of the scale.