BACKGROUND: Interventions aiming to improve motor functioning are important aspects of the rehabilitation of people with Parkinson's disease. The Lee Silverman Voice Treatment BIG (LSVT-BIG) is an exercise concept for people with Parkinson's disease that is commonly applied in clinical care. It's effectiveness on motor functioning is unclear. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review summarizes studies on the effectiveness of LSVT-BIG on motor functioning in comparison to other exercise interventions. METHOD: The electronic data bases Medline, CINAHL and Cochrane Library were consulted for randomized controlled trials (RCT) in the publication period 2005 to 2017 that compared LSVT-BIG for mildly to severly affected people with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (Hoehn and Yahr stage I to IV) with other exercise interventions. The methodical quality of the included studies was assessed using the PEDro scale. The included studies were narratively summarized. RESULTS: Three RCT with moderate methodical quality (PEDro scale 5 to 6/10 points) were included. Two studies showed no advantages of the standardized LSVT-BIG over another exercise intervention with approximately comparable doses of training. One study proved superiority of LSVT-BIG in comparison to other exercise interventions with different doses of training. CONCLUSIONS: The appraisal of effectiveness of LSVT-BIG on motor functioning is limited due to the small number of available studies. More studies of high quality are needed to determine a possible dose-response relation between exercise intervention, including LSVT-BIG, and motor functioning.

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