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NCT05994508Completed

Feasibility and Effects of a Pickleball Program for People With Parkinson Disease

A Community Pickleball Program for People With Parkinson Disease: A Feasibility and Preliminary Results Study

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 26 Jun 2025

Brief summary (registry, in English)

Pickleball is a fast-growing sport that has been shown to improve social integration, life satisfaction, function, and cognitive function in older adults. Parkinson disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by bradykinesia, rigidity, tremors, and postural instability. Exercise has been shown to improve physical and cognitive function in people with Parkinson disease (PD). The purpose of this study is to assess if a community pickleball program can be a feasible and effective for people living with PD.The primary aim of this study is to assess the feasibility of a group pickleball program for people with PD. Secondary aims is to assess the effects of a 6-week pickleball exercise program on balance, gait, cognition, upper extremity function, pain, and quality of life in people with PD. This will be a pre-test, post-test single-group, prospective, mixed-methods study with 1- month follow-up. Sixteen participants will be enrolled in a 6-week pickleball program, at a frequency of twice a week for one hour each session. Feasibility will be assessed by retention rates, adherence rates, resources, and number of adverse events. Quantitative data to be collected will include the Mini-BESTest, gait and body posture variables, Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-8, the Shirt-Buttoning Task, 9 Hole Peg Test, grip strength, PD-Pain Classification System, and the National Institutes of Health Toolbox Cognition Battery. Additionally, participants will be scheduled for small semi-structured focus group interviews to gain qualitative data about their experiences of the program. It is hypothesized that a pickleball program for people living with PD will be a feasible activity and will result in improvements in balance, gait, cognition, upper extremity function, and quality of life. Additionally, it is hypothesized that participants will have a favorable opinion on the activity.

Status (registry)
Completed
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
16 (actual)
First submitted
8 Aug 2023
Start date
12 Jan 2024
Primary completion date
30 May 2024
Lead sponsor
Midwestern University
NCT number
NCT05994508

What you commit to

  • Study type: Interventional
  • Participants enrolled: 16
  • From 12 Jan 2024 to the primary completion date, 30 May 2024
  • 1 site in 1 country
  • Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them

Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.

Who cannot take part

Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.

Other illness

  • Diagnosis of any other neurologic disorder
  • Any current illness, injury, or cognitive function that would prevent ability to perform the study tasks

Other

  • Not regularly participating in pickleball (less than 3 times a month)

Who the study is looking for

  • Diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson disease
  • Able to walk without an assistive device
  • Able to tolerate 45 minutes of activity with occasional seated rest

Age in the registry: 18 years to - · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers

Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov

Sites (1)

Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.

SiteCityCountrySite status
Creighton University
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
PhoenixUnited StatesUnknown status

This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.