Differential Effects of Cycling Exercise on Pain Types in Patients with Early Parkinson’s Disease - A Subgroup Analysis of a Randomized Pilot Trial

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by James

Differential Effects of Cycling Exercise on Pain Types in Patients with Early Parkinson’s Disease - A Subgroup Analysis of a Randomized Pilot Trial examines how cycling influences distinct pain subtypes in early Parkinson’s disease. The randomized controlled pilot trial enrolled participants with early PD, applying inclusion/exclusion criteria for an exploratory subgroup analysis. Cycling intervention lasted 40–60 minutes per session, three times weekly for 24 weeks, with pain subtypes evaluated by the King’s PD Pain Scale. Cycling showed higher proportions of improvement in fluctuation-related, nocturnal, and orofacial pain, while musculoskeletal pain newly developed more often in the cycling group.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Introduction

Trial context and intervention details

Journal of Pain Research Open Access Full Text Article SHORT REPORT Differential Effects of Cycling Exercise on Pain Types in Patients with Early Parkinson’s Disease: A Subgroup Analysis of a Randomized Pilot Trial Jin-Sun Jun 1 , Seohee Choi2 , Nyeonju Kang 3 , Kiwon Park4 , Beomseok Jeon 5 , Kyeongho Byun 3 , Ryul Kim 6 1Department of Neurology, Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; 2Department of Neurology, Inha University Hospital, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea; 3Division of Sport Science, Sport Science Institute & Health Promotion Center, Incheon National University, Incheon, Korea; 4Department of Biomedical and Robotics Engineering, Incheon National University, Incheon, Korea; 5Department of Neurology, Chung-ang University Health Care System Hyundae Hospital, Namyangju-si, Korea; 6Department of Neurology, Seoul Metropolitan Government-Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea Correspondence: Ryul Kim, Department of Neurology, Seoul Metropolitan Government-Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 20 Boramae−ro 5−gil, Dongjak−gu, Seoul, 07061, Korea, Tel +82-2-870-2478, Fax +82-2-870-3863, Email [arkrk86@snu.ac.kr](arkrk86@snu.ac.kr) ; Kyeongho Byun, Division of Sport Science, Sport Science Institute & Health Promotion Center, Incheon National University, 119 Academy-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, 22012, Korea, Tel +82-32-835-8648, Fax +82-32-835-0788, Email [kbyun21@inu.ac.kr](kbyun21@inu.ac.kr) | Background: Pain in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is common and arises from both central and peripheral mechanisms, manifesting as distinct subtypes. While physical exercise is considered one of the nonpharmacological treatments for managing pain in PD, it remains unknown how the effects of exercise differ depending on the type of pain.
Objective: To explore the differential effects of cycling exercise on various pain subtypes in patients with early PD.
Methods: In the randomized controlled pilot trial, 22 participants with early PD were initially assigned to the cycling exercise group and 11 to the control group. This exploratory subgroup analysis included 25 patients after applying the inclusion/exclusion criteria, comprising 16 cycling exercise participants and 9 controls. The exercise intervention consisted of 40–60 minutes of cycling, three sessions weekly, for 24 weeks. Pain subtypes were assessed using the King’s PD Pain Scale. Changes in pain severity and newly developed pain were analyzed descriptively.
Results: After 24 weeks, a greater proportion of participants in the cycling group showed improvement in fluctuation-related, nocturnal, and orofacial pain compared with controls. However, musculoskeletal pain newly developed in 40% of cycling participants, compared to 20% in the control group. For other pain subtypes, both groups showed similar patterns in pain severity changes and newly developed pain.
Conclusion: Cycling exercise may alleviate fluctuation-related, nocturnal, and orofacial pain in PD but may also increase the risk of musculoskeletal pain in some cases. These observations warrant further large-scale investigations.
Keywords: Parkinson’s disease, cycling, exercise, pain, trial | | --- | | Introduction
Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) frequently experience pain during the course of the disease.1 Previous evidence suggests that pain occurs in approximately 25% of patients with PD in Korea.2 This non-motor symptom in PD can manifest in various forms, with musculoskeletal pain being the most common subtype.3 Pain has a negative impact on quality of life in patients with PD,3 but there is insufficient evidence for the efficacy of both pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions for pain in these patients.4
Physical exercise is considered one of the nonpharmacological treatments for

FAQs

What question does this study address about cycling exercise in early Parkinson’s disease?

It explores whether cycling has different effects depending on the specific pain subtype in patients with early Parkinson’s disease.

How was cycling exercise delivered in the trial?

The intervention consisted of 40–60 minutes of cycling, three sessions weekly, for 24 weeks.

Which pain types improved more with cycling compared to the control group?

Fluctuation-related, nocturnal, and orofacial pain showed a greater proportion of improvement in the cycling group.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by James