March 22, 2016
By John Osborne; Daily News Correspondent
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Cinotto, left, and Montgomery are
the creators and owners of Moving Forward Now in Naples.
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When it comes to fighting the
ravages of Parkinson's disease, baby steps definitely aren't the goal.
So with that in mind, a local
pair of registered and licensed occupational therapists combined forces to
create Moving Forward Now, a Naples-based business centered on providing
treatment options for people suffering from Parkinson's disease, a progressive
affliction that affects as many as 1 million people in the U.S.
According to the American
Parkinson Disease Association, doctors diagnose as many as 60,000 new cases of
Parkinson's disease each year, with the disease striking roughly 50 percent
more men than women, and 60 years old marking the average onset age.
A disease of the nervous system
characterized by tremor, muscular rigidity and slow, imprecise movements,
Parkinson's is associated with degeneration of the basal ganglia of the brain
and a deficiency of the neurotransmitter dopamine.
To combat those symptoms,
occupational therapists and former professors Cindi Montgomery and Therese
Cinotto specialize in LSVT Big, an exercise program based on the principle that
the brain can learn and change (neuroplasticity).
The protocol was formatted from a
program called the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment to help with speech for people
with Parkinson's disease.
"LSVT Big is a very intense
protocol that results in phenomenal changes," said Montgomery, who met
Cinotto while both taught occupational therapy at Kaiser University in Fort
Myers. "When I saw what it could do, I knew it was something I wanted to
do with my life. I got a tingling feeling just thinking about it."
A Michigan native who holds
occupational therapy degrees from the University of Michigan and the University
of New Hampshire, Montgomery said LSVT Big lives up to its larger-than-life
name.
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Occupational therapists Cindi
Montgomery, left, and Therese Cinotto do an exercise with Virginia Chandley at
her home in Naples on Friday.
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"If you've ever seen or
known someone with Parkinson's, you know that their movements are slow, with
small steps that often cause falling," she said. "So what we do is
work with individuals to increase the amplitude of their movements. The point
is to recalibrate the brain to initiate bigger movements, which in turn spur
improvements in gait and balance and stopping and starting and freezing — all
the things that are so much a part of a person's life with Parkinson's."
Montgomery said LSVT Big therapy
takes place four times per week for four consecutive weeks, followed by
exercise routines that need to be performed for the rest of a patient's life.
"It's quite intensive, and
since we go to patients' homes for the therapy, we really feel like we have
filled a niche in town because, for many people, getting to an outpatient
clinic four times a week can prove difficult," Montgomery said.
"Patients also receive the added benefit of training in their home
atmosphere, which they navigate the most."
Montgomery said the monthlong
LSVT Big therapy costs $1,450, with follow-up exercise services available for
$50 per visit or at a price of $35 apiece when purchased in packages of six.
Client Barbara Lay, of Naples,
said it was money well-spent.
"The program was so good; it
helped me more than any other discipline I've tried, and I really appreciated
their enthusiasm and skills," said Lay, who was diagnosed with the disease
in 2013 after a dozen years of leading exercise classes for people with
Parkinson's at local hospitals around Southwest Florida.
Client Virginia Chandley, of
Naples, who was diagnosed six years ago, said much the same.
"I took this program in the
hospital, and I continue to benefit from the exercises," she said.
"Part of life for Parkinson's patients, which I am, is that we tend to
make all small movements. With the protocol and practicing the large gestures,
everything comes together more normally. I was recently in the hospital, where
I was in bed and not able to exercise, but when I was tested I'd lost almost
nothing. I really think that is probably due to performing this program."
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| Occupational therapists Therese Cinotto, left, and Therese Cinotto, right, do an exercise with Virginia Chandley at her home in Naples, FL on Friday, March 18, 2015. Therese Cinotto and Cindi Montgomery created Moving Forward Now which is a Naples-based business centered on providing treatment options for people with Parkinson's disease. |
Cinotto, who studied at Colorado
State University and moved to Florida in 2002, said she hoped she and
Montgomery could make a real impact on the community with their new business.
"I hope we can reach out and
touch those newly diagnosed or those people who have lived with Parkinson's for
a number of years and help them understand that they can improve the quality of
their life by doing this protocol," she said. "There are a lot of
good, positive things that come out of this protocol, so right now our biggest
challenge is getting word out about who we are and educating the public and
medical professionals that there's an option for the folks who have this
diagnosis."
For more information call
239-572-6557 or email moving forwardnow.net@gmail.com.
http://health.einnews.com/article/317718784/1PHdsDWdw-JqvSZo
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