Understanding personal preferences to promote exercise adherence in Parkinson’s disease

Introduction: Exercise is a recognized treatment for people with Parkinson's Disease (PwP), but personal exercise preferences are rarely considered in exercise intervention studies. Yet these are critical for understanding motivation and to ascertain long-term exercise adherence in PwP. This study compared preferred exercise types among PwP with exercise types investigated in prior research. Method: 672 PwP participated in an online survey, answering questions about currently practiced and preferred exercise types. Besides, a brief review was performed, evaluating exercise types deployed in prior studies. The preferred exercise types of PwP were subsequently compared to exercise types used in prior research. Results: PwP mainly preferred the same exercises that they were currently practicing. These preferences did not necessarily align with exercise types reported in prior studies. The top 5 highly preferred sport categories but relatively little studied were walking, biking, swimming, boxing, and tennis. Conclusion: Future intervention studies may benefit from considering personal preferences to both strengthen and understand exercise adherence.