Effectiveness of haptic cues on gait in people with Parkinson's disease – A systematic review and meta-analysis

Effectiveness of haptic cues on gait in people with Parkinson's disease – A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Haptic cueing to improve gait in people with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is an emerging treatment
approach of interest. This systematic review [PROSPERO CRD42023483230] aimed to critically appraise the
available literature on the effectiveness of haptic cues on gait in people with PD.
Methods: Articles published from inception to May 2025 were searched in EMBASE, MEDLINE, APA PsycINFO,
and CINAHL. Both randomized and non-randomized clinical trials that investigated the effects of haptic cues on
gait parameters (stride length, gait velocity, cadence) in people with PD were included. Two reviewers independently
selected articles, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias (ROB) using the Downs and Black tool.
Results: Twenty-nine studies, including 661 participants with PD, were included. Four studies were randomized
controlled trials (RCTs) with strong methodological quality, while the others were pre-post interventional
studies. Three RCTs reported outcomes suitable for pooled analysis.
Conclusions: Results indicate that haptic cueing improves gait (mainly velocity and stride length), with some
improvements noted in additional spatiotemporal parameters and freezing of gait. Despite positive findings,
evidence is limited and more robust RCTs are required to verify the efficacy of haptic cues, particularly for
sustained effects on gait.