Effects of Visual Deprivation Training on Balance and Gait in Patients With Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review

Abstract

People with Parkinson's disease are more dependent on visual cues during tasks compared to healthy people. We designed this study to investigate the effects of visual deprivation training or closing the eyes for a while on balance and gait in patients with Parkinson's disease. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA statement and was registered with PROSPERO 2024 (CRD42024568933). A literature search was performed on September 1, 2024, and it continued up to June 30, 2025, without any time limits. The quality of evidence was assessed using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database, and the risk of bias in the included trials was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias assessment 2.0. Disease severity decreased as measured by UPDRS-III score; balance and walking improved as measured by Timed-Up-and-Go test; stride length and gait velocity increased, double-limb stance phase decreased, stance phase time decreased, and swing phase time increased as measured by gait analysis. Improvements were maintained after a few weeks of ending the training programs. Visual deprivation training, simultaneously with walking or balance exercises, could provide optimal conditions for overcoming overreliance on vision in people with PD and relying more on somatosensory information. © 2025 Japanese Society of Neurology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.