Background/objectives: Bradykinesia is considered one of the most disabling motor symptoms in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). Speed-based interventions are promising for reducing bradykinesia in this population. This systematic review aims to describe speed-based interventions that have been employed for reducing bradykinesia in individuals with PD and verify their effects.
Methods: This systematic review protocol was carried out in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P). Electronic searches were performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, PEDro, LILACS and SciELO databases and gray literature sources. Experimental studies that investigated the effects of speed-based interventions on bradykinesia in individuals with PD will be considered. Two independent reviewers will screen the studies, extract data and assess risk of bias using Revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB 2) and ROBINS-I ("Risk Of Bias In Non-randomised Studies-of Interventions"). Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) will be used to assed the quality of evidence.
Conclusions: This systematic review will offer information regarding which types of speed-based interventions have been investigated for reducing bradykinesia in individuals with PD. This information may be important for clinical decision making and will help identify gaps in the literature that may be useful for the definition of future research objectives and the planning of new trials. Ethical permission is not required for this study.
Systematic review registration: this systematic review was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO; registration number: CRD42024543673).
Keywords: Parkinson’s disease; bradykinesia; experimental designs; systematic review.