TITLE:
Verification of Therapeutic Effects When an Occupational Therapist Walks with a Patient with Moderate Alzheimer’s-Type Dementia: A Case Report—Validity of Clinical Observational Perspective Verified by Changes in Autonomic Nervous System Responses: A Preliminary Study
AUTHORS:
Kikuo Eguchi, Seigo Koura, Noriyuki Ogawa, Nao Eguchi, Akihiko Kondou
KEYWORDS:
Alzheimer’s Disease, Autonomic Nervous Response, Clinical Observational Perspective, Therapeutic Effect, Walking
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation,
Vol.11 No.2,
May
29,
2023
ABSTRACT: Background: In actual clinical settings, an occupational therapist (OT) encounters
a patient with moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD) walking with an anxious
expression on the ward. The OT walks with the patient and encourages them to
look at the symbol tree in the center of the ward. Additionally, when the
patient talks to the OT, the OT empathizes with them and responds
appropriately. As a result, many patients feel less anxious and become calmer.
Therefore, in this study, the OT walked with an elderly female patient in her
80s with moderate AD and measured the patient’s autonomic nervous system
responses. The study aimed to verify to what extent the results matched the
OT’s clinical observational perspective. Methods: An OT with over 10
years of experience and a good relationship with the patient conducted
one-on-one walking sessions with the patient. We divided the sessions into
five-time periods: when the patient and OT were sitting on a sofa, and when
they were walking. We implemented the same approach to the patient as usual.
Therefore, we prompted the patient to look at the symbol tree during the
walking session. Additionally, when the patient talked to the OT, the OT
empathized and gave appropriate responses. We checked the changes in the
patient’s autonomic nervous system responses in each time period. Results: This
study showed that when walking with an OT, patient with moderate AD had a
significant increase in parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity.
Therefore, it is suggested that the involvement of professionals such as the
environment and the OT during walking training for Alzheimer’s patients may lead to improved mental stability. Conclusion: This
study suggests that walking together with an OT may have a positive
effect on the PNS of female patient with AD. The study also suggests that there
is a potential agreement between clinical observation by the OT and evaluation
results based on autonomous nervous system reactions. However, due to the
limited number of patients, further studies involving a larger number of
patients and multidimensional evaluations are needed.