Effect of Proprioceptive Training Compared With Other Interventions for Upper Limb Deficits in People With Parkinson Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

•Findings regarding the effect of proprioceptive training on fine motor and gross manual dexterity are inconclusive.•There was no effect of proprioceptive training on upper limb function and QoL.•Present results plus broader evidence suggest further research is warranted.•RCTs could explore proprioceptive training vs no intervention and long-lasting effects. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the efficacy of proprioceptive training on hand dexterity, upper limb function, and quality of life (QoL) in people with Parkinson disease (PD) compared with no or other active interventions. Medline PubMed, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PEDro, and Web of Science databases were searched to identify published studies until February 2023. Peer-reviewed English publications of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of proprioceptive training conducted among people with PD. Study characteristics, exercise program type and dosage, outcome of interest, and between-group comparisons of post-test results of intervention and comparison groups. Eight RCTs were included, involving 344 people with PD. Six RCTs contributed to meta-analyses. There was very low certainty of evidence that proprioceptive training may improve dominant hand (standard mean difference [SMD] 0.34, 95% CI 0.08-0.60, P=.01) and non-dominant hand (SMD 0.36, 95% CI 0.10-0.63, P