February 18, 2026

@michaelokun

Could your physical capacity determine whether walking helps or harms falls risk in Parkinson’s disease? Physical capacity refers to your body’s ability to perform tasks like walking and is frequently measured using gait speed. McArdle and colleagues describe in a new paper in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease how physical capacity changes the relationship between daily walking and falls in the setting of Parkinson’s disease. Key Points: - Physical capacity significantly moderated the relationship between walking amount and falls. This translated to mean that 'walking more' did not have the same effect for everyone. - Folks w/ high physical capacity had lower fall rates especially as daily step counts increased, suggesting walking may possibly be protective in this group. - Folks w/ moderate physical capacity experienced higher fall rates as daily step counts increased, possibly due to greater exposure to situations where balance challenges exceeded their physical abilities. My take: This important study reinforces that walking recommendations should never be 'one size fits all.' Walking is critical for brain and body health in Parkinson’s, however the benefit appears to depend heavily on underlying physical capacity. Health care providers should be thinking about strengthening capacity first, and then paying closer attention to safely increasing amounts of 'walking.' Remember sometimes we can inadvertently make people worse! Here are 5 points that resonated w/ me: 1- Physical capacity appears to be a key factor in determining fall risk, not just how much someone walks. 2- Walking more was linked to fewer falls in folks w/ higher physical capacity, suggesting walking can be protective. 3- Walking 'more' was linked to higher falls in folks w/ moderate capacity, highlighting a vulnerable group needing targeted interventions. 4- Improving physical capacity through strength and balance training may reduce falls and allow safer mobility. 5- Fall prevention strategies should be personalized and based on measuring walking ability and physical capacity first. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1877718X261418987 #parkinson #michaelokun #fixelinstitute