Physical therapist Lettitia Furrow (right) and patient John Nieberlein practice LSVT Big movements to help Nieberlein as he battles with the degenerative neurological disorder Parkinson’s. LSVT Big promotes bigger, full-body and limb movements to improve the ease of daily activities, such as standing up, walking, balancing and getting dressed.
Rocky Mount’s Carilion Clinic Outpatient Therapy offers programs and a newly formed a community support group to provide Parkinson’s patients with specialized therapy to improve everyday living.
Patients with progressive neurological diseases like Parkinson’s frequently suffer from speech and physical limitations that affect routine activities. While many people are likely to have heard of the degenerative disorder, they may not be aware of how the condition starts. It can develop when there is a loss of brain cells that produce the chemical dopamine, which coordinates movement.
Burke Rehabilitation Hospital reported that close to 500,000 people in the United States suffer from Parkinson’s, and about 50,000 other are diagnosed each year based on research from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Parkinson’s normally manifests in people over 60, but can be present earlier in life as well. Physical therapy assistant Amy Meador said that Parkinson’s is second only to Alzheimer’s in neurological conditions.
She also said there is no known cause of the condition, but researchers believe it could be a combination of genetics and environmental factors. She said there are medications that can help the symptoms, but exercise has been proven beneficial. Exercise can improve brain function and slow the progression of the disease, experts say.
In 2012, Carilion Clinic started the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment Big program for victims of the disease. The program is overseen by Meador and physical therapist Lettitia Furrow, and is a “research-based intensive, high amplitude” exercise program that helps “stimulate motor learning” and challenge the motor and sensory systems, according to the clinic.
“We want them to move bigger,” Meador said. “We’ve had great success with our patients.”
It’s anticipated that by continuing to practice the large movements, the patients will be able to perform everyday tasks more easily.
Carilion Clinic also offers the LSVT Loud program, which helps improve voice and speech to help with voice projection.
Clinicians must be certified in order to treat patients in the LSVT programs, and the clinic currently has three certified physical therapists. Together the three physical therapists have treated more than 45 patients through the programs, Meador said.
LSVT treatments consist of sessions four days a week for four consecutive weeks, individual one-hour sessions, daily homework and carry-over exercises. Participants must be referred by a physician, and the treatments are covered by most insurance companies.
Most recently, the clinic has decided to offer a Parkinson’s support group to community members who may be suffering from the disease and their families.
“We want to get the word out to the community that we have these programs,” Meador said. “A lot of time it helps to be with people that are going through the same things.”
Meador said the support group was started as a trial to see how it would work, and was well-received by participants.
“Patients seem to really enjoy it and take back useful information they can use at home,” she said.
The support group is open to the community and offers guest speakers, occasional small groups, one-on-one time and helpful information.
The group meets about every three months; the next meeting will be held on Dec. 6 at the Franklin Center in Rocky Mount from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The guest speaker will be Joseph Ferrara, a Carilion Clinic neurologist from Roanoke. Pre-registration is required by calling the clinic at 800-422-8482 or online at http://www.cvent.com/d/htq0h1. Light refreshments will be served.
http://www.thefranklinnewspost.com/townnews/medicine/parkinson-s-support-group-open-to-entire-community/article_d9c04b30-d38c-11e7-9ef2-f392a0846b10.html
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